Rapid Share Links Forum

[DanielS]

Person A has made up a forum to provide links to a website where a user can download games, movies and music, the games and movies. The games, movies and music are protected by copyright. But the downloadable content isn't hosted by Person A its hosted by a completely different company. (the company is in America)

Is Person A breaking the law, by allowing the links to be placed on there forum and creating the sole purpose of having links on their forum (apart from a chat area like the locker room)?

Person B is Person A's friend. Person A doesn't know much about setting up forum's as in adding Forum areas so Person B as a good friend he is, offers to help set up the forum, Person B creates an account and Person A gives Person B admin access.

Person B creates the forum sections and areas for Person A, but he wasn't aware at the time at it was for downloading content of movies, music and games, as if he would of known he wouldn't of offered to help.

Person B never posts any of these links and only hangs around the areas which dont have the links in.

Is Person A or B breaking the law?

 

[Michael Wechsler]

There are numerous times where I hear of people trying to immunize themselves from liability by claiming they just didn't know about "stuff" and were innocent bystanders. Let's look at the subject matter - rapidshare and the posting of copyrighted files. You can look at this in the same manner as distribution of any other illegal substance, e.g. cocaine. If you knew that the board you were setting up would or could contain something illegal or about something illegal, you will likely not be held as someone who is "ignorant of the facts."

That said, let's look at what "contributory infringement" is - it requires:

(1) knowledge of the complained infringing activity, and
(2) a material contribution or an actual assistance or an inducement to the alleged piracy.

Putting up a forum to put rapidshare links or megaupload or whatever free download sites there are which contain pirated software could easily put you at risk to being liable for contributory infringement.

In order to prevail on a contributory infringement claim, the copyright owner must prove that the webmaster or the service provider actually knew or should have known of the infringing activity. If you should have known what was going on, you've got some challenges ahead.