Aug 7, 2018

Who is leaking Dr Who?

The BBC is on a hunt to find the source of a leaked teaser clip of the upcoming and much anticipated Dr Who season.

While the release of the first episode is  still some months off, unfinished clips of the first episode have been appearing online in recent weeks showing Jodie Foster's bow as the thirteenth Doctor. Fans have been delighted and infuriated in equal measure, some seemingly delighted to see the teaser-clip, and others frustrated at the appearance of spoilers online before the first episode airs.

In its hunt for the source of the leak the BBC has issued a DMCA subpoena (similar to a formal application for disclosure in England and Wales) against Microsoft in Washington. The aim is to gain access to the OneDrive account of a particular user thought to have shared the material in June.

This follows a similar application in July in which the BBC was successful in compelling the Tapatalk forum to disclose the source of a post containing infringing material. It is unknown whether it is the information garnered from that application that leads to the instant one.

The current application alleges that the footage was stolen from the BBC studio, but does not elaborate on whether that theft was physical or digital.

The BBC seems determined to contain this leak, possibly in light of it having accidentally leaked the first few episodes and 8 scripts itself several months before the release of the new Dr Who season in 2014.

If you have any questions on the above, please do not hesitate to contact the team at McDaniel & Co. on 0191 281 4000 or legal@mcdanielslaw.com.

in: Copyright, Digital/Tech, News

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