Is "Making Available" Copyright Infringement?

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).

Comments

Lazy Lawyer

[mandelbr0t]

The first "Ask Slashdot" was somewhat interesting. Now I'm tired of you. Don't you do any real work?

You know the law better than we do, and I'll bet you already know the answer. Libraries and Video Rental stores are all over the place. I'm guessing they're legal. If you lived in Canada, it's legal to have a "Shared Folder" accessible on the Internet. Does that constitute "making available?" I think you've deliberately asked the question in a vague way to promote pseudo-legal discussion, in much the same way that an artist plays their muse; at some point, something interesting appears. But it's all wrong and needs to be reworked by the "master". I, for one, don't think that's an appropriate way to create art. After all, it's the muse who came up with the original idea and the artist that gets paid for it.

So please, NewYorkCountyLawyer, don't make me start going through the articles in Firehose again to vote down your incessant questioning. Once should have been enough for you.