Linking To Unauthorized MP3s Illegal In Australia
from the so-much-for-search-engines dept
Earlier this year, we pointed to a situation in Norway, where a person who simply created a website with links to unauthorized copies of mp3 files was fined for doing so. Considering that Google can be used to find links to unauthorized copies of mp3 files as well, it certainly sounded like such a ruling opened up all search engines to quite a bit of legal liability. Apparently, it's not just in Norway that this problem occurs. Down in Australia, following up on a case we first wrote about two years ago, a judge has also decided that linking to unauthorized copies of mp3 files is illegal. In this situation, it looks like the judge is using similar reasoning to the US Supreme Court in the recent Grokster decision. Because the guy in question was using the links page to get more attention for his ISP, he's seen as somehow inducing people to infringe on copyrights. Of course, the real question is why isn't the industry going after the people actually sharing these files, as they are the ones actually breaking the law.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
This really is pretty stupid
Anyone care to place bets as to how long it'll be till this is overturned? :)
[ link to this | view in thread ]