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

Illegal to not report a crime?

[biocute]

If you intentionally make your assets unprotected, and when stolen, you don't report to the police and just get on with the life, would it be illegal?

I wonder what would happen if some broke into a house, instead of taking away CDs, he just copied them and left, would the house owner be liable for copyright infringement?

Re:Illegal to not report a crime?

[Ckwop]

If you intentionally make your assets unprotected, and when stolen, you don't report to the police and just get on with the life, would it be illegal?

No, I would say it's more like this. Suppose I built a device that could duplicate any physical item given to it exactly. Further suppose that people started using this device to duplicate cars so they didn't have to pay buy one from a car dealer.

The car dealers, facing the total destruction of their business, decide to lobby Congress to pass laws that makes these duplication devices illegal. This, however, doesn't work. People are still making copies in the black-market.

So again, through the courts and congress they attempt to make putting a car in any public place a crime.

I know this is a bat-shit crazy analogy but to some extent that is because what the music industry is doing is bat-shit crazy.

What really hurts is that Congress and the RIAA have totally missed just how revolutionary the Internet is. You'd expect the RIAA to be blind to this because of their own vested interests but for Congress to so completely miss the point is unforgivable.

Simon

How does this affect other sources?

[Overzeetop]

Software exists for OCR from camera sources such as cell phones. Would the presence of, say, a bookstore which allows patrons to browse the shelves and - presumably - photograph the pages be liable under this expansion? What are the special circumstances for libraries, and could they be considered liable under this distribution interpretation?