Users Uploaded Files

[ferhanz]

i am in a process of building a mobile entertainment portal where users will upload and share games, applications...of course the games and those applications are not for free...so is it legal to build such a site..if no then why yahoo groups host TONS of websites where people share files, games, applications etc..i am a bit confused in it ...if u see another websitw <snip> its very close to what i am building....its Privacy Policy says that the content is uploaded by users so they take no responsiblility....so this opens the gate to put anything on ur website even if u are the only one whol upload them..lol

Farhan

[edited by: engine at 4:56 pm (utc) on Dec. 16, 2005]
[edit reason] TOS [/edit]

[ferhanz]

Anyone?

[Beagle]

....so this opens the gate to put anything on ur website even if u are the only one whol upload them..lol

Well, no, because if the site avoids responsibility (often a sticky problem even with forums), then it's the poster who's responsible. So if you're the one doing the uploading, you're responsible. Even if you as site owner don't upload anything illegal yourself (and so don't qualify as a poster of illegal material), you might be held accountable for not making a good faith effort to keep illegal material off your website - but that's an "ask a lawyer" question.

If your site visitors have written these games and applications themselves, and by "not free" you mean that they're selling programs that they themselves have created, no problem. But I'm guessing that's not what you mean. If not, then there's illegal activity going on and the only question would be who's resonsible for it.

The tons of websites on Yahoo (and other places) are either flying under the radar and/or just haven't been caught yet. Some of the people running them consider shutting down one site when they're caught and opening a new one part of "business."

Have to say that this is more clearly illegal activity than a lot of the questions posted in this forum, with people wondering how much of an article they can republish under "fair use" or when something is old enough to be in the public domain. Maybe that's why you haven't been getting responses.