Grunday Takes A Hard Line
13th March 2006
It is hard to log on to the internet without coming across some sort of reference to filesharing of items, and the process of sharing such data is becoming more and more of a topic of debate and news stories.
Whilst there's no immediate link between Neighbours and filesharing the producers of the Australian soap are beginning to mobilise against the small but growing group of Neighbours fans that are sharing full episodes of the show via the internet.
Both Grundy and FremantleMedia, the two main companies involved in the production of Neighbours, have been increasing the pressure upon sites and forums which have allowed discussion of how one might download Neighbours episodes and the posting of links. This action has seen stern rhetoric being relayed on these sites stating the illegality of commenting on downloading television shows and reminding visitors that Neighbours is copyrighted to the companies that produce it.
It remains to be seen whether this pre-emptive action is being taken due to the increase in demand for free downloadable episodes, the increase in publicity surrounding the illegal trading of files via the internet or even as a request from the BBC (who have noticeably stricter rule of thumb when it comes to trading shows they have produced) but it's definitely an interesting development for the show.
Ultimately copyright is a very contentious issue and the argument of breech of this copyright could be used to bind Neighbours sites and Neighbours forums even further, with things like screen captures being deemed unsuitable for posting.
It will be interesting to see how far Grundy and FremantleMedia pursue this issue now they have appeared to jump on the anti piracy band wagon.
