Wednesday 10 April 2013

Filmhub: Richard O'Dwyer's new venture

Richard O'Dwyer has been in the news quite a bit over the last few years. He was arrested on criminal copyright charges after starting TVShack, a website which made him £140,000 by providing links to illegal television and film download sites.

The Westminster Magistrate Court's found that there were direct consequences of criminal activity by Richard O'Dwyer in the USA, even though he had never left he UK, meaning that O'Dwyer should be tried in the US rather than the UK. Home Secretary Theresa May then rubber stamped the application and  O'Dwyer only narrowly escaped extradition  and criminal trial in the US by entering into a plea bargain, agreeing to attend the USA to visit a court and to pay over a limited amount of compensation.
One might have thought that O'Dwyers adventures in copyright law would end there. But no, the latest news is that he is now working on the launch of a new video streaming portal called Filmhub.

According to TorrentFreak, Filmhub will enable television and film enthusiasts to stream and discover video content from the major networks and studios. O'Dwyer's selling point is a "discovery engine" that makes personal recommendations, allowing users to find content relevant to them. It's not clear exactly how Filmhub will work - afterall Netflix, Amazon and Lovefilm already make recommendations for their users, based on users' previous film choices - but it seems that Filmhub will be authorised to aggregate content from these three providers, making it a one-stop shop for film and televsion.
O'Dwyer says:

"It could be described as a hub to manage everything you’re watching and wish to watch. What you like and dislike. And importantly delivering Movie & TV suggestions personalized to your own taste and current mood, with features to connect with others and share your opinions.
The aim with Filmhub is to bring everything into a single reliable source the community can build upon."

O'Dwyer says that he has learnt from his adventures in copyright law over the last few years and that "hopefully this new project is a way to give back to everyone."
Watch this space.

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