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A friend sends me an mp3. I would like to listen to it at work so I upload it to Google Docs for easy retrieval. I later find out (or already knew) that the file was downloaded illegally. What type of privacy am I offered and am I liable for the illegally downloaded file?

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Not sure if this is on topic or not. It's not strictly about any one web application. It's a good question though. –  ChrisF Jul 1 '10 at 15:25
the title could be rephrased like "how to share securely files via online storage by preserving privacy" and then provide some scenarios. –  akira Jul 1 '10 at 16:15

2 Answers 2

The first answer is, this depends on the jurisdiction you are in; "fair use" (in the USA) is different from "fair dealing" (in the UK). In the UK, the MP3 is a copyright violation unless you have a license from the rights-holder even if you own the CD, as there is no implicit right to format-conversion.

The second answer is that creating a new copy, as you do when you upload the file Google Docs (or any other web-based service) is a copyright violation in itself.

The third answer is that this isn't a criminal offence under most jurisdictions, and many privacy laws have exceptions for criminal offences, but not for civil liabilities. Revealing your private data - even if they did so to expose a civil liability - may well be a breach of your privacy rights.

I'm not a lawyer, this isn't legal advice, contact a real lawyer.

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If your friend sends you an .MP3 and you don't own the CD, then that is illegal filesharing.

It's against Google's Terms of Service:


As always, I am not a lawyer, this is not legal advice.

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