Legal Question in Technology Law in Massachusetts

If I have a blog with the ability for anonymous comments, am I at risk if someone posts a download link to content that is copyright protected (ie a music album)?

For example: What about sites like http://music.is-amazing.com where they state in their Privacy Policy that they are not responsible for comments made by their "anonymous" visitors? All of their posts have a comment with a link to album downloads that are copyright protected. Is the blog owner / author not legally responsible to remove content posted by visitors they know is a copyright infringement? This seems very illegal, but I am no expert. Is their Privacy Policy and About page blurb enough to keep them safe from legal troubles?

Thanks for any input, links to resources, or thoughts on the subject.

/Ashley


Asked on 10/31/10, 5:06 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Lawrence Graves Coolidge & Graves PLLC

Really, not an issue as long as you remove any infringing content upon request, and take reasonable measures to police what is appended to your blog. Any policy reasonably calculated to prevent systematic copyright infringement is going to mean that you would be a most unattractive target for an infringement action.

Best wishes,

LDWG

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Answered on 11/05/10, 5:27 pm


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