Is "Making Available" Copyright Infringement? 320
NewYorkCountryLawyer updates us now that the legal issue — is it copyright infringement merely to "make available" a copyrighted work? — has been argued by the attorneys in Elektra v. Barker (on January 26). Whichever way the ruling goes it will have a large impact across the Internet. Appeal seems likely either way. No ruling has issued yet but "a friend" has made the 58-page transcript "available" (PDF here).
Re:man copyright is completely stupid (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Interesting idea - definition of a library (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Slippery Slope (Score:3, Informative)
If you leave your car parked on a hill in neutral without the emergency brake on, and it rolls down the hill and damages another car, are you liable? "Yes" because you negligently maintained your property.
If you leave a computer unprotected on the internet, and never take steps to protect it, are you acting negligently and thus liable for the damage it causes? I'm not particularly advocating liability, but by the same token, it is hardly a strange concept to hold people responsible for negligently using their property in a manner that damages another's.
I would note that liability for negligence is different from criminal prosecution (the AZ child-porn case comes to mind), or at least it ought to be in the sense that intent to commit the crime should play a vital role at least in this instance. Of course, bankrupting someone through damages might be just as bad as jail time. Anyway, I wouldn't be shocked if someday someone is held liable for the damage they enabled by negligently maintaining a computer.
Re:Moot (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Slippery Slope (Score:2, Informative)