Infringing websites

Broadly, there are three types of offending site. While most make infringing copies available for free, many are supported by advertising revenue. A smaller but significant number offer a premium level of access for a fee. Occasionally we see sites that are a hybrid of two or more types.

Hosting sites

These are traditional websites. After finding the site, the user navigates through the pages to find the required work, and then downloads it from the site.

Locker sites

Also known as one-click hosting sites, these are web servers that provide hosting for individual files, without navigation. The user must be in possession of an (often complex) URL in order to download the file.

Feeder sites

These are websites that do not host infringing files, but provide URLs enabling downloading from locker sites. The PA's view is that such sites are, at the least, guilty of secondary infringement.

What to Do

In most cases, the desired outcome is to simply make the infringing content (or sometimes the entire site) go away, as quickly and cheaply as possible. This is best achieved through a notice and take down (NTD) system, whereby a notice is served on the internet service provider (ISP) hosting the site or file.

Usually, the ISP takes down the site or file. Some ISPs have a policy of terminating the accounts of repeat infringers, though it is often necessary to request this explicitly.

What is peer-to-peer (P2P) or file sharing?

Peer-to-peer (P2P) or filesharing shares files directly between network users without the need for a central server. Because there is not one central legal entity to serve notice against it is more difficult to serve a notice. We have recently introduced functionality to the Portal that offers the ability to serve notices for peer-to-peer infringements.