"Copyright law treats those who create or control content differently from those who simply provide the tools or infrastructure for others to communicate. In this case, May First provided hosting services but didn't post the photo."
"Courts have long recognized that service providers aren't direct infringers when they merely store material at the direction of users. In those cases, service providers lack 'volitional conduct'—the intentional act of copying or distributing the work."
"Copyright law also recognizes that intermediaries can't realistically police everything users upload. That's why legal protections like the Digital Millennium Copyright Act safe harbors exist."
Higbee & Associates targeted May First Movement Technology with a baseless copyright claim regarding a photograph owned by Agence France-Presse. May First, a nonprofit providing web hosting, did not post the photo, which was uploaded by a member organization. After May First removed the image, Higbee still demanded payment. The Electronic Frontier Foundation intervened, explaining the lack of a valid claim, leading Higbee to back down. This case illustrates that copyright demands often face strong defenses, especially when the accused did not directly post the content.
Read at Electronic Frontier Foundation
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