Stolen content question (no drama) - GoFuckYourself.com

GhengisBong · 05-22-2008, 03:58 PM

Hey,

Can forum(s) owner be held accountable for stolen content being posted on their board or does it solely rest on the poster(s)?

Thanks.

wootpr0n · 05-23-2008, 01:08 AM

This is complicated.

90% of the people on this board are angry and are going to tell you that the forum owner is liable for everything because they are mad that somebody posted their entire members area on a forum.

But realistically speaking, a forum isn't liable for what its users post, as long as it responds to proper take-down notifications. This is protected by both the DMCA and the Communications Decency Act.

But even if we look at this, not only may a forum not be liable for what its users post, but it may not even have any obligations under the DMCA to remove such posts. If a user posts content on a file-sharing or video-hosting website, and then posts links to such content on the forum, the forum may not have to remove those links because it is not hosting the actual content.

Then there are other arguments, such as the forum owner encouraging people to upload content to third party websites and then post the links on his/her forum. Then it could be argued that he is encouraging infringement and further benefiting from it financially. But you would have to sue the forum owner in court, and that forum owner would have to be located in the United States and would have to be hosting his forum in the United States in order for any judgement to be effective. And all of this would cost a lot of money, and carries substantial risk.

Iron Fist · 05-23-2008, 01:28 AM

Let's face it, who wants to blow a load on lawyers?

ultimatebbwdotcom · 05-23-2008, 01:29 AM

I read this on wiki a while back and wondered how it might translate to forum owners if they display a link but dont host the infringing content.

"Many sites are receiving DMCA notices and taking down links to infringing material as a result. Because the links are taken down it is rarely challenged in court resulting in link liability being a grey area of the law, although based on previous legal cases it leans in favor of copyright owners.[5] Stephan Ott of LinksandLaw.com states that "linking to infringing content is unlawful and that is also what most of the courts say"

kazbalah · 08-27-2008, 09:52 PM

depends on the nature of the board, if its a warez board you are promoting piracy, also have a lawyer write you up a new user agreement to protect yourself.

05-22-2008, 03:58 PM	#1
GhengisBong Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: ICQ 486029946 Posts: 621	Stolen content question (no drama) Hey, Can forum(s) owner be held accountable for stolen content being posted on their board or does it solely rest on the poster(s)? Thanks.

05-23-2008, 01:08 AM	#2
wootpr0n Confirmed User Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 250	This is complicated. 90% of the people on this board are angry and are going to tell you that the forum owner is liable for everything because they are mad that somebody posted their entire members area on a forum. But realistically speaking, a forum isn't liable for what its users post, as long as it responds to proper take-down notifications. This is protected by both the DMCA and the Communications Decency Act. But even if we look at this, not only may a forum not be liable for what its users post, but it may not even have any obligations under the DMCA to remove such posts. If a user posts content on a file-sharing or video-hosting website, and then posts links to such content on the forum, the forum may not have to remove those links because it is not hosting the actual content. Then there are other arguments, such as the forum owner encouraging people to upload content to third party websites and then post the links on his/her forum. Then it could be argued that he is encouraging infringement and further benefiting from it financially. But you would have to sue the forum owner in court, and that forum owner would have to be located in the United States and would have to be hosting his forum in the United States in order for any judgement to be effective. And all of this would cost a lot of money, and carries substantial risk. __________________ Sig too big http://www.gofuckyourself.com/gfy_faqs.html Want to use a large banner in your sig??? Contact Eric about getting on as an advertiser - eric AT adult.com

05-23-2008, 01:28 AM	#3
Iron Fist Too lazy to set a custom title Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 23,400	Let's face it, who wants to blow a load on lawyers? __________________ i like waffles Last edited by Iron Fist; 05-23-2008 at 01:29 AM..

05-23-2008, 01:29 AM	#4
ultimatebbwdotcom Confirmed User Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 591	I read this on wiki a while back and wondered how it might translate to forum owners if they display a link but dont host the infringing content. "Many sites are receiving DMCA notices and taking down links to infringing material as a result. Because the links are taken down it is rarely challenged in court resulting in link liability being a grey area of the law, although based on previous legal cases it leans in favor of copyright owners.[5] Stephan Ott of LinksandLaw.com states that "linking to infringing content is unlawful and that is also what most of the courts say" __________________ Ultimatebbw.com Dangerouscurvesdesign.com

08-27-2008, 09:52 PM	#5
kazbalah Confirmed User Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 1,215	depends on the nature of the board, if its a warez board you are promoting piracy, also have a lawyer write you up a new user agreement to protect yourself. __________________ Link Directory Submitter - Forum Auto Submitter - Article Submitter - Simple SE submitter - Blog Auto Poster - 45 Wordpress Themes - Mis Spelt Keyword Generator - Auto Forum Submitter