Would there be any legal problems running a site like this one? www.phpmusicsearch.com/demo Would like to add something like this to a site of mine but worried it may not be legal.
I think if you have a very well worded disclaimer, you should be ok. It also depends on which country you are hosting your site in.
nice site and nice search engine. Its risky offering copyrighted material for downloading. Consult a proper lawyer mate because as iastaff touched on, in this case there are loads of factors involved with music downloads. Do not take any advice here as gospel until its confirmed with a qualified legal professional.
Some people might suggest to you that it is legal because it is a search engine, and search engines (such as Google) have extra protection from certain aspects of copyright law. I would not agree on this point. A search engine such as Google is built to find anything that is linked to on the net. This search engine is designed to specifically look for music files (most of which will be infringing). In most countries I would say this would be considered copyright infringement. There is a world of difference there. A ToS won't give any sort of protection.
Your disclaimer should be a link to another page and also it should be less vague like say we do not host copyrighted material...etc It's the distribution that is not the legal part not the pointing to where to find them... But they may use your site to sniff the ones hosting...
Depending on where the OP lives, your statement is inaccurate. Canada, while not as lax as Sweden, is more lax in it's definition of copyright laws. In the US, UK, and many other countries it is illegal to point to infringing files. It is known as contributory infringement.
What I will do is find a lawyer that is familiar with internet related laws and see if I can get a free consult regarding this issue and will post the information that I obtain from the consult.
Having a good knowledge of what your local laws are, as well as what the laws in your hosting country are, on top of legally binding and well worded disclaimer, is a good way to start if you must point to these files. Although there are many p2p programs out there that find this material automatically, I would advise you to try and stay out of this gray area if you have other alternatives.
No, actually I don't. I'm not disagreeing with the fact that general search engines like Google have protection. However, a search engine like phpmusicsearch.com would not fall under the same definition. 1) phpmusicsearch does not search the web. It searches one site (esnips.com) which is a media file sharing site. It's a web-based p2p. A general search engine merely follows most types of links on web pages to build an index of everything. phpmusicsearch singles out only audio files from one site. 2) The fact the esnips and phpmusic search do not specifically say they are designed to share copyrighted material means squat. See the Grokster decision to see how the courts have decided that when a site (or software) is mainly used to infringe on copyright (even if that waws not the intention of the owners) and the owners should have reasonably known that is what the service was being used for that they are still liable for infringement unless they take significant action to curb said infringement. 3) While Google's image search does target image type files, there are several main differences. First, the images returned are thumbnailed (phpmusicsearch returns complete audio files). Second, Google image search results link to the website the images came from, whereas phpmusicsearch does not link to the site the files came from, much less the copyright holder's site. 4) phpmusicsearch is selling this script. So, they are directly making money from the use of the search script. While Google does have ads, that is indirect profit. 5) To qualify for safe harbor protection under DMCA the website must have a registered agent with the copyright office. phpmusicsearch does not have an agent listed, but Google does. 6) Also in order to qualify, the service must not have knowledge of infringement occurring. While I'm sure that Google knows that there is infringement occurring somewhere on the web, because they search everything they only have to not have knowledge of specific occurences. Any court would laugh at that argument with phpmusic search. All it would take is one search to learn that most or all of the content returned by this script is infringing. 7) Both esnips is registered in the US, so they are certainly liable. phpmusicsearch is registered in Lebanon. I don't know what the copyright laws are like in Lebanon, but any site owned by a US citizen using that script would be found to be guilty of contributory infrongement in the least. Again, what I disagreed with was that the phpmusicsearch script would fall under the protections that search engines get. I did not disagree that search engines have certain protections. Don't worry about me, I am all brushed up.
Thanks for the thesis chief. However this would have sufficed. Also let me know once you have, 'esquire', behind your name.
Don't need it unless I plan to practice, which I don't. But then passing the barre does not prove dependable knowledge of the law or the ability to think through either written law or case law on any subject.
Your floating the gray peer to peer line there. Be very careful and have your lawyer(s) read over the TOS and AUP 10 times. When they are done.. have them read it again.
i think some of you who want questionable material on your site need to consider the option of offshore hosting where the laws are not as harsh as US laws are.
For once I agree with you. In the end it comes down to where YOU reside, or are a citizen, or where your business is incorporated. For those truly IN the online game. I recommend you have a LLC formed at bare minimum. 2 cents.
thats ilagale , i asked mangers etc just alone with the download button breaks 2 laws of copyright up to 10k fine. also you must have a piracy disclaimer At least like mine. And make sure you have that on every page. Also you will need offshore as well as a very reputable private company. I made mine legal , hosting my own site like that with scripts www.streaming-music.net modified from original with scripts to add to myspace etc. if you want it legal pm me and i can show you how.
Using that disclaimer only raises falgs that your site is conducting illegal activities. There is no such Act signed by Clinton or any other President. That supposed section is nothing but the internet equivalent of believing that asking whether a person is a cop and getting a "no" answer will prevent you from being prosecuted in any illegal dealings you have with them. It's just a load of B.S.