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So hypothetically, if Microsoft hired a US based corporation to create a microblogging site, and that corporation copied the source code for Twitter, re-branded
by ynniv 17y ago
So hypothetically, if Microsoft hired a US based corporation to create a microblogging site, and that corporation copied the source code for Twitter, re-branded it as Microsoft specified, and the site went live, Microsoft would be liable? Where is the line then? Are individuals equally liable if they use software that was lifted unbeknownst to them by a software publisher?
- grellas 17y agoCopyright law generally does not excuse "innocent infringers" and is pretty strict in this sense (here is a link to a discussion of copyright that sums this up in the first two paragraphs: http://www.ladas.com/NII/CopyrightInfringement.html http://www.ladas.com/NII/CopyrightInfringement.html). This sort of liability can extend to average people as well, as for example in this news report of a 2-lawyer firm that hired an SEO guy as a contractor for a $1K job and wound up with a $60K+ liability (and certainly must have spent many thousands more in attorneys' fees) as a result of that contractor's having lifted some copyrighted promotional materials wholesale from another law firm's website and used that infringing material as its deliverable for the project (http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202432820979&src=EMC-Email&et=editorial&bu=Law.com&pt=LAWCOM%20Newswire&cn=NW_20090806&kw=9th%20Circuit%20Finds%20for%20PI%20Firm%20Over%20Theft%20of%20Firms%20Web%20Site%20Content http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202432820979&src=...).