5 ms·

On the other hand, and not that I'd like to be sued for placing links, if the link in my page is something like <a href="ftp://thepiratebay.com/avatar.mp4">Avat

by _yosefk 11y ago

On the other hand, and not that I'd like to be sued for placing links, if the link in my page is something like <a href="ftp://thepiratebay.com/avatar.mp4">Avatar Movie Download</a>, the argument that the page had the text of the Holy Bible in it last time I checked might not be very convincing. So I can see how someone might mull.

titanomachy 11y ago
I think that's more where this legislation is coming from. Some people have built a business on aggregating links or embeddings of copyrighted material and those sites always use the legal defense of "we don't host any of the content so it's not our problem." I imagine this is very frustrating to copyright holders, so it's reasonable that they would seek redress of some kind. Of course, making any copyright-infringing link illegal would be far too heavy-handed, but I don't think that's a likely decision here.
- dsp1234 11y ago
  If someone published only the names and addresses of known drug dealers in a phone book, the publisher still wouldn't be responsible for any drug deals.
  - deleted 11y ago
    [deleted]
  - Retric 11y ago
    Aiding and abetting is a federal statute in the US, so I don't think that would be considered 100% OK. The evidence must show beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant acted with the knowledge and intention of helping that person commit [specify crime charged]. http://www3.ce9.uscourts.gov/jury-instructions/node/367 http://www3.ce9.uscourts.gov/jury-instructions/node/367 PS: A more interesting question is if saying we don't host Hollywood crap if you want that go to [the pirate bay] without linking to any specific material.
  - hueving 11y ago
    If they put it under a section titled "drug dealers", then it would probably be a problem.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
- dTal 11y ago
  The elephant in the room is that Google actually do host copyrighted content on YouTube (which is its primary use case), but they're so big they're untouchable. Let's go after the big guys before the little guys, eh?
  - shaftway 11y ago
    [citation needed]
lisper 11y ago
Have you ever used the Pirate Bay? The links there are actually magnet links (i.e. BitTorrent links) and they just look like random gibberish. What you get on the Pirate Bay is descriptions of these links. So it's more like: <a href=magnet:some-random-string>Avatar HD</a> Trick is, that description may or may not actually be true. The content is submitted by PB users. The PB, AFAIK, doesn't actually vet this information. And, BTW, not all of the content linked to on the Pirate Bay is actually pirated. You can find Linux distros there, for example.
- schrototo 11y ago
  None of this is any excuse if the intent is so clearly to profit illegally off of other people's content. Trying to paint Pirate Bay as this altruistic organization that just wants to distribute some Linux distros is such bullshit. The information wants to be free brigade always seem to overlook the tons of sleazy ads and malware that accompanies all of these file sharing sites.
  - lisper 11y ago
    Well, large corporations using political influence to extend copyright terms effectively forever to prevent works from ever entering the public domain against the express intent of the Founders (at least in the U.S.) aren't exactly the white knights in this story either. Look, I'm a filmmaker. I believe in copyright (for limited terms), and I believe in using the law as a mechanism to enforce the interests of copyright holders. But making it a crime to link to a page that contains unlicensed material is going way too far IMHO. (BTW, the sleaze and malware make pretty effective deterrents for the general public to use the PB. You may have noticed that Hollywood is still in business despite the fact that the PB is still operating.)
    - deciplex 11y ago
      > Well, large corporations using political influence to extend copyright terms effectively forever to prevent works from ever entering the public domain against the express intent of the Founders (at least in the U.S.) aren't exactly the white knights in this story either. Exactly this. Get back to me when we have a sane copyright regime in the US and, for that matter, the rest of the world. Until then, pardon me if I'm not bothered when people pirate content.

by _yosefk 11y ago

titanomachy 11y ago

I think that's more where this legislation is coming from. Some people have built a business on aggregating links or embeddings of copyrighted material and those sites always use the legal defense of "we don't host any of the content so it's not our problem." I imagine this is very frustrating to copyright holders, so it's reasonable that they would seek redress of some kind. Of course, making any copyright-infringing link illegal would be far too heavy-handed, but I don't think that's a likely decision here.

dsp1234 11y ago
If someone published only the names and addresses of known drug dealers in a phone book, the publisher still wouldn't be responsible for any drug deals.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
- Retric 11y ago
  Aiding and abetting is a federal statute in the US, so I don't think that would be considered 100% OK. The evidence must show beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant acted with the knowledge and intention of helping that person commit [specify crime charged]. http://www3.ce9.uscourts.gov/jury-instructions/node/367 http://www3.ce9.uscourts.gov/jury-instructions/node/367 PS: A more interesting question is if saying we don't host Hollywood crap if you want that go to [the pirate bay] without linking to any specific material.
- hueving 11y ago
  If they put it under a section titled "drug dealers", then it would probably be a problem.
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
dTal 11y ago
The elephant in the room is that Google actually do host copyrighted content on YouTube (which is its primary use case), but they're so big they're untouchable. Let's go after the big guys before the little guys, eh?
- shaftway 11y ago
  [citation needed]

lisper 11y ago

Have you ever used the Pirate Bay? The links there are actually magnet links (i.e. BitTorrent links) and they just look like random gibberish. What you get on the Pirate Bay is descriptions of these links. So it's more like: <a href=magnet:some-random-string>Avatar HD</a> Trick is, that description may or may not actually be true. The content is submitted by PB users. The PB, AFAIK, doesn't actually vet this information. And, BTW, not all of the content linked to on the Pirate Bay is actually pirated. You can find Linux distros there, for example.

schrototo 11y ago
None of this is any excuse if the intent is so clearly to profit illegally off of other people's content. Trying to paint Pirate Bay as this altruistic organization that just wants to distribute some Linux distros is such bullshit. The information wants to be free brigade always seem to overlook the tons of sleazy ads and malware that accompanies all of these file sharing sites.
- lisper 11y ago
  Well, large corporations using political influence to extend copyright terms effectively forever to prevent works from ever entering the public domain against the express intent of the Founders (at least in the U.S.) aren't exactly the white knights in this story either. Look, I'm a filmmaker. I believe in copyright (for limited terms), and I believe in using the law as a mechanism to enforce the interests of copyright holders. But making it a crime to link to a page that contains unlicensed material is going way too far IMHO. (BTW, the sleaze and malware make pretty effective deterrents for the general public to use the PB. You may have noticed that Hollywood is still in business despite the fact that the PB is still operating.)
  - deciplex 11y ago
    > Well, large corporations using political influence to extend copyright terms effectively forever to prevent works from ever entering the public domain against the express intent of the Founders (at least in the U.S.) aren't exactly the white knights in this story either. Exactly this. Get back to me when we have a sane copyright regime in the US and, for that matter, the rest of the world. Until then, pardon me if I'm not bothered when people pirate content.