Legal Question in Technology Law in Australia

Internet sites linking to external, illegal content.

Hello. I see many websites that provide links to pirate movies, however the infringing files themselves are stored on sites such as Google.

Would the owner of such websites that provide these links be in any risk of prosecution?

Thank you for your time.

-Mike


Asked on 4/20/07, 9:33 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Jeremy Malcolm iLaw

Re: Internet sites linking to external, illegal content.

We used to think that the answer was no, but a recent case from last year, the MP3s4free case, has cast doubt on this. In that case, a Web site linking to externally hosted MP3 files, and the ISP which knew of the site and gained revenue from it, were both found liable. A link to a press report on the case is here: http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/communications/soa/Judge-MP3-site-ISP-breached-copyright/0,130061791,139202379,00.htm. It comes down to whether the people involved are effectively authorising the infringement of copyright by knowingly directing people to download infringing material. MP3s4free was a fairly extreme case, and a different result would be expected in cases where the ISP or Web host exercises less control over the links posted on the site.

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Answered on 4/20/07, 9:43 am


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