Alright, I recently (over the last few days)put together a site called Seriously Free. Anyways, the site is called Seriously Free because it provides Free File Downloads (of Full software, movies, games, etc.) I know downloading Pirated Software is illegal, of course, however, none of the Files up for download are hosted on my site, they are all torrents from around the web. So, as long as I do not host any of the files, is my site fully legal? Also, should I put a note at the bottom of the site like donwload at your own risk since the action of downloading the files is illegal (I figure most of the visitors I will recieve already know that)?
I thought most Torrent Search Engines got shut down becasue the files were hosted on their servers. More specifically, for what reason is my site illegal?
What I know it's actually legal in most countries but most webhosts would shut you down if they get a complaint against your site. A .torrent file doesn't contain anything illegal
You are linking to copyrighted content that you do not have the rights to redistribute. Doesn't matter if you aren't hosting the files on your server, torrent sites don't host the actually content on their server either. No matter where it is hosted you are liable to get sued, some places may provide more protection than others though.
Question: What is contributory infringement? Answer: The other form of indirect infringement, contributory infringement, requires (1) knowledge of the infringing activity and (2) a material contribution -- actual assistance or inducement -- to the alleged piracy. Posting access codes from authorized copies of software, serial numbers, or other tools to assist in accessing such software may subject you to liability. Providing a forum for uploading and downloading any copyrighted file or cracker utility may also be contributory infringement. Even though you may not actually make software directly available on your site, providing assistance in locating unauthorized copies of software, links to download sites, server space, or support for sites that do the above may contributorily infringe. To succeed on a contributory infringement claim, the copyright owner must show that the webmaster or service provider actually knew or should have known of the infringing activity. source
Indeed. And even if you didn't know, you could be held liable for vicarious infringement. See my recent blog post about contributory and vicarious infringement... Deena ________________________________________________________________________ Any opinions are offered without knowledge of the specific law of your jurisdiction and with only the limited information provided in your post. No advice given here should be reasonably relied upon by you or any third party without consulting an attorney who is aware of all of the facts and law surrounding your situation. Any advice given here is not intended to create an attorney-client relationship in any way.
Haha, it seems like, even though many of you have pointed out my site is illegal, it will be alright as long as I host it in Europe. What is a good Free adless host found in Europe?
I think you need to reread the posts here or do a little more research on your own if that's the impression you are getting. Yes some countries in Europe will provide more protection than others (Sweden) but it does not prevent people from taking legal action against you, just look at the current lawsuit against TPB. No free hosts, much less ones without ads will allow you to host warez on their servers.
Sorry, I didn't mean Europe as a whole, I meant the Netherlands, and also, the Pirate Bay hosts the torrent files, I just provide links to the sites that host the torrent files.
But where are you located? In the US? If so, you're not protected from suit just by hosting in another country... Deena _______________________________________________________________________________ Any opinions are offered without knowledge of the specific law of your jurisdiction and with only the limited information provided in your post. No advice given here should be reasonably relied upon by you or any third party without consulting an attorney who is aware of all of the facts and law surrounding your situation. Any advice given here is not intended to create an attorney-client relationship in any way.
Torrent files themselves do not contain any illegal copyrighted material, they just link to them as you are. Linking to copyrighted files like that is still contributory infringement and can get you sued. I am not trying to annoy you, but if you are starting a site like that you need to know the facts and the risks you take.
Alright, so I realize this is still risky business, but where my site is right now it is pretty hard to track me down. First of all, people that get in trouble for the material they download would first balme the website they ghot the torrent from (not mine). Next they would look at who referred them to the torrent, which is me. However, my site is hosted on 50Webs, and my accoount doesn't contain any information leading to me. I guess the only way they could track me is through IP uploading. However, I could easily get around that by creating a new hosting account, providing all false details and uploading using a Proxy Connection.
They can just subpoena your host for your IP, and then once they find out it's going through a proxy subpoena them as well to get your IP/location. Obviously the parties concerned can't sue anyone and some sites/people put themselves at more risk to be sued than others. There is no method to be 100% bullet proof, just ways to lower your risks.
dude just get hosting in hong kong. those guys look at DMCA or any legal notices for that matter from americans or europeans and use it for toilet paper.
Even the guys at Pirate Bay have run into some trouble, and they've got about as good a setup as you can ask for. My advice is just to protect yourself as much as you possibly can just in case.