Hyperlinking to copyrighted material is illegal: Australia
Cooper's site didn't host any copyrighted material. Instead, it linked directly to recordings hosted on other servers, many of which were copyrighted.
Judge Branson of the Federal Court bench wrote:
I conclude that Mr Cooper infringed the Record Companies’ respective copyrights in sound recordings by in Australia authorizing internet users to do acts comprised in those copyrights, namely make copies of the sound recordings. I also conclude that Mr Cooper infringed the Record Companies’ respective copyright in sound recordings by authorizing operators of remote websites to communicate those sound recordings to the public in Australia.
Likewise, he found that Cooper's ISP was guilty of authorising and "countenancing" copyright infringements. A copy of the judgement can be found here.
The ruling affects people in Australia mainly and could mean users there will get persecuted if they link to copyrighted material from any website. Whether or not the ruling affects overseas site operators and ISPs linking to Australian content that may or may not be copyright isn't clear at this stage.
Australia's copyright legislation has recently come under scrutiny as the already strict laws will be further tightened up. Lobby group Electronic Frontiers Australia says the Copyright Amendment Bill 2006 will introduce strict liability offences for copyright, making the country the only common-law one in the world to have these.
If the Bill passes in Australia, the EFA says the liability offences will carry maximum penalties of A$6,600 but the police will be able to hand out infringement notices with spot fines of A$1,320.
The most controversial aspect of the Bill is a new section that makes it a criminal offence to posses a device with intent of making an infringing copy. Said device can be a VCR, iPod or other MP3 player, or just a personal computer. Even though making a copy isn't self an offence, the intent of doing so is punishable by up to five years in prison and up to A$65,000 fines.
EFA also points out that singing "Happy Birthday" in public would be a criminal offence, as it would be an unauthorised performance of a copyright song. Likewise, using your mobile phone to record a public performance for your own use would also be illegal.
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Comment by freitasm, on 20-Dec-2006 17:42
So, if I want to make money I can just hire a lawyer in Sydney and go around asking for money from any site linking to us?
So, what happened to Hypertext Transfer Protocol?
Why I am under the impression that judiciary, law enforcement and lawmakers are always behind the times in terms of technology?
Comment by Matt, on 21-Dec-2006 08:45
Actually, EFA is wrong about "Happy Birthday" as it's not a copyrighted work in Australia.
However, I wouldn't be surprised to find that something like "Jingle Bells" is, and that would really put a crimp on carollers. I guess it's a good thing that a lot of the really popular carols are so old as to be unquestionably out of copyright.
Comment by The Underground, on 21-Dec-2006 15:04
Who really cares, so I speed on the highway and run red lights. The law on copyrighted material doesn't mean anything to the underground. Just find another loop hole to get around those laws. Getting Drugs off the streets is more important than personal entertainment. I'll sing Happy Birthday were I want. I'll do it in front of the police station.
Comment by Brad, on 21-Dec-2006 15:15
Stupid Law....
We have lost our freedom.
Why go to a site to download music for mobiles and Ipods. I've been using bittorrent for years now ,download Movies and Tv series that have been axed here. If I couldn't do that I'd be hooning still.
Comment by Carrie, on 21-Dec-2006 22:11
Is this only pertaining to links to downloads? Or links to anything? Including news articles or freebie offers? I belong to a few forums that contain nothing BUT links to stuff companies are giving away, and/or links to where news items can be found.. So what's the go there?
Comment by David Grant, on 22-Dec-2006 14:34
This is a very dumb decision by an ignorant judge that will have horrible consequences for the Internet in Australia.
If you want to do business on the Internet you shouldn't be in Australia, because Australians are too stupid to understand the consequences of their actions.
The recording industry has gone too far, and has now damaged Internet commerce in general. By creating a link to another web site Mr. Cooper was exercising free speech.
What has happened to the sites that actually did infringe the copyright? Why did the lawsuits not stop there?
And to put together a set of draconian laws like this, if they are to pass, the politicians of this country should be kicked out of office and thrown in jail for treason!
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Comment by chiefie, on 20-Dec-2006 11:22
Extreme... all the sudden, after the Bill is passed, any Austrialian websites will drop significantly as there will be no viable materials or articles to link to as it will be in breach of the new Bill for copyrights infrigement.
Funny though, I thought Australia's law allow format-shifting for music and video, is this not the case?
This is crazy, all the bloggers etc will not be able to post any link, in fear of being prosecuted... tsk tsk tsk...