Hi guys, This question is aimed at people who KNOW WHAT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT. Please don't just post on here for the sake of it to inflate your post count. Basically, I wanted to know what the real truth was behind the legality of streaming websites. Obviously, the content is not the publishers own, so there is a degree of copyright issues there. But, embedding content hosted elsewhere - is that legal? I really don't know. A Google search seems to bring up some fairly confused answers as well. Something else that makes me wonder, is the amount of video/movie/TV streaming websites in the for sale section, that are making good revenue. Why would someone want to sell up, with good revenue? Strange. But if anyone has got some good, sound knowledge on this area, please let me know!
Linking or embedding is called contributory infringement - and you can certainly be sued in the US. To judge your liability and the ease of going after someone, you would need to consider where your files are hosted and where you live. Any adsense account would certainly be subject to a ban regardless of where you live or host, and a DMCA could be filed with the major search engines and your host.
Just use your common sense. If a website has first run movies that are still in the theaters available, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that it is illegal. Many people consistently make up the "rule" that if you don't host it, you are not liable, but I think the owners of Pirate Bay can attest that..that is not the case, particularly if you profit from it...such as displaying ads. If it is not offered up for syndication, such as video sites like You Tube, Vimeo, Hulu, and others, then it is not yours to display no matter what offshore hosting site you use. To put it plainly, those movie sites break U.S. copy right law, and if you are caught it is punishable by jail and fine. Like I said, common sense...Do you own it ? Do you have permission from THE OWNER to use it..then it is just like anything else. If the owner of a car leaves the keys in it, that doesn't mean it's OK for you to take the car and lend it to your friends as long as you don't mean any harm. There will be a ton of people that will disagree with me, to justify doing what ever they want, but the entertainment industry is tired, and people are starting to go to jail. Play at your own risk.
Alright Ian, See I own a streaming site myself http://DailyNewMovies.com which actually pulls out videos from Youtube. As you might know Youtube does give out embed code. So as far as youtube's concerned they are a legal site with a mixed content including the illegal ones. So they remove it if they receive complains. So its like an open truth. And about the movie streaming sites. Major sites like tudou, megavideo run on a skimline rules. What I mean is they know their site is full of illegal stuff but still they take chance and run their site. And they remove content as soon as they receive complaints. So does Rapidshare - the no.1 file sharing site ! Trust me Rapidshare, megavideo always win lawsuits if someone tries to bring them down. Cos they declare that the site is meant for any person who wishes to share files or videos. And they do not have control over that person. But I have seen a couple of sites brought down via lawsuits. People like us take chances and run the sites as long as possible. Monetize it. Sell it. And that's how many web business works. P.S: At OP, I know you are desperate to get answers. If I were you I would be pissed if some half witted guy answers to your thread. But the thing is DP is an open public forum. Anyone can come and answer. No matter what his objective and thoughts are So be cool man..
Sites like youtube and rapidshare have more protection as a host, rather than an individual site where the owner puts the embeded link into their content. Even with this protection, and the difference that a user uploads the content, youtube has a billion dollar lawsuit pending - and they spend a fortune in legal fees. There is a big difference between a site where users upload content vs. the site owner embedding the content. Even with user uploaded content, the site owner can still be held liable, especially if it obvious the site is about hosting illegal content. Bottom line - if you are putting content on your site that isn't yours, or content that you don't have express permission from the copyright owner to display, you run the risk of being sued. The larger the site, the bigger the target.
Thanks for your intuitive responses guy. Mjewel - The first thing when I thought of this myself, is the pirate bay situation. Didn't host the files themselves, but still got taken down. I guess a situation like this, as well as streaming from your own website - you're "assisting" copyright infringement. hmansfield - Good input there. I know if you don't own it, you shouldn't publish it (as a rule), but I wondered if there were exceptions in this field. For example, as stated, like you can embed youtube videos. Soulzripper - "monetize it. Sell it". Yes, I figured this was the general consensus. Which really is shown in the low prices based on revenue that the websites are earning. I know it's business, but it's immoral business. Don't worry, I know it's an open forum - and I know the type of people here at DP just love to post. But on a subject like this, there's nothing more irritating than people posting rubbish for the sake of it. So let's conclude. The general rule is that even if the content is not on your server, you're still assisting copyright infringement, which is punishable by law. Oh - and what's this thing where people say "I host the website in Germany, so there's no legal issues attached"?