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It's technically not illegal to link to a site that links to copyrighted material, but there's still the potential for legal challenges to come up - especially

It's technically not illegal to link to a site that links to copyrighted material, but there's still the potential for legal challenges to come up - especially if whatever you build is successful. The RIAA/MPAA etc can ruin your life with an expensive, years-long lawsuit whether you are found guilty in the end or not. If you really want to make it, make it for fun and release it anonymously. Historical context: Napster: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napster#Lawsuit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napster#Lawsuit Legal discussion: http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=c71fa5d9-8380-4714-b7fb-73d8d426973b http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=c71fa5d9-8380-... (I am not a lawyer! Get legal advice if you are worried!)

smartwater 13y ago
I personally know someone who had a website seized by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for linking to copyright content. It all comes down to intent. When visiting a site like ThePirateBay or TorrentButler, it's clear that they are intentionally facilitating copyright infringement-- and that's what they will charge you with, amongst other things. It's hard to deny that fact when 99% of the content has a copyright, even if you hide behind the DMCA "user uploaded content" clause. With that being said, they made 1M+ from it and didn't get caught. Your results may vary.