Having a site with movies on it, such as http://tv-links.co.uk ? Even if I don't upload them myself, and just provide links to them.. is that legal? I know tv-links has been around for awhile & hasn't been shut down.. which made me think that maybe it is legal.
depends on what country your in but yeah its fine go ahead with it you wont getinto any troubble and if you do give the site away problem solved
Well, It is a big debate whether or not it is really "ethical..." I am sure it would be ok sine you in Canada though, but not justicel.
Not a good idea. I think each infraction can be a $100,000 fine here in the U.S. You must ask yourself is it worth it.
Sites such as TV-Links and Cinecast use the excuse that they are not hosting the movies on their servers, and they haven't uploaded. They are simply linking you to content on other sites. They havent got sued and they are still active so I assume that is okay. But is risky and you need to know the legal stuff before you attempt it.
Well I think the legality issue has been resolved considering tv-links.co.uk was shut down 14 days after the original post. Thanks for pointing this out auctionfreak.
Rapidshare hosts more than half of illegal files, but are they busted? no. They just pull down anything which is copyrighted and reported by anyone. and actually, they have their business due to the same.
You are not protected in the US simply because you do not host the material. Links directly to infringing material are considered contributory infringement. The manner in which the links appear on a site determine whether the site is liable. (If the site puts the links up themselves then it is definately illegal, if they are generated by users of the website then there are ways to protect the site from litigation.)