Copyright Case Highlights Need for Care

Breach of copyright on the Internet is relatively common, but it is still a breach of the law and one for which there is no defence based on ignorance. Copyright is an absolute right, which arises automatically. Nothing has to be done to obtain it: it arises as soon as the material is created. So, anything you read or watch is the copyright of the creator (or someone to whom they have assigned it) and cannot be used without permission.

A recent case shows how easy it is to breach copyright, even if it is unintended. It involved an Internet-based news indexing system, which allowed members to find reports on films (primarily) through a system based on the use of internet discussion groups. Members were easily able to find reports on films and similar items and to download them. The problem was that the system also enabled members to search for and download copies of particular films by directing them to locations on the Internet where these were available. It also provided the technology by which the files could be downloaded. This breached the copyright of the owners of the films.

The High Court concluded that the system must have given members the impression that the provider had implied authority to allow users to copy films and the provider had therefore ‘procured and engaged in’ a ‘common design’ to infringe the film owners’ copyrights.