Hello everyone. Following my topic posted yesterday (look down a few topics) I'm pleased to say we won the copyright infringement allegations, and the ripper's site was forced to remove copied content. However, I'm facing a second issue. I'm under the impression they plan to appeal the Host's orders. You see, the Website is hosted in the United States, however the Webmaster lives in the United Kingdom. Apparently, they think that in this circumstance US Copyright laws don't effect them, however I disagree. If a website is hosted in the United states, is the content on the Web Server liable to United States copyright laws? If so, can somebody provide a link to either a page showing this legislation, or an example of where something similar has happened? Many Thanks
Yes, if a website is hosted in the US, the hosting provider is subject to US laws and will have to respond to a DMCA takedown notice (for example). But they should also realize that the United States and United Kingdom (and many other countries) are signatories to the Berne Convention. That means that "literary and artistic works" protected by copyright in the US should be protected in the UK as well, so that's no excuse either. But there is a bit of a sticking point. Under the DMCA the person accused of infringing copyright can file a counter-notification. The next step would be for you to take him to court.