Australian Linking Decision Is Not The End Of The World, Probably
On Monday, the Federal Court of Australia ruled in Cooper v. Universal Music Australia, that a website that did not itself host infringing MP3 files, but was structured to provide easy linking access to such files, was liable for copyright infringement. Australian IP expert Kimberlee Weatherall tells us that while the Cooper decision's 'linking is authorization of infringement' holding is not great, the specific facts of the case may limit its applicability.