Judge: Links Without Copyright Holders Permission Unlawful

DALLAS — In an unusual decision, U.S. District Court Judge Sam Lindsay granted a preliminary injunction against a man who operated Supercrosslive.com, saying that links between that site and live webcasts of motorcycle racing events made without the copyright holders permission were unlawful.

Robert Davis, who represented himself, failed to convince Lindsay that his racing site was not operating in violation of intellectual property laws by linking to webcasts copyrighted by the plaintiff — SFX Motor Sports.

SFX sued Davis is February, arguing that fans who go to its website see names and logos of sponsors, but users who access content via Davis’ link cannot see the logos of the companies that paid to advertise.

“The link Davis provides on his website is not a ‘fair use’ of copyright material,” Lindsay said.

The question of links and copyright laws has is not a new one, CNET News writer Declan McCullagh said.

In 2001, a federal appeals court ruled that a news organization could be barred from linking to software deemed illegal under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act because it could decrypt DVDs.

In 2000, a federal judge in California ruled that hyperlinks were permissible in a dispute between Ticketmaster and Tickets.com. That judge said hyperlinks were not in and of themselves violations of copyright law.

In the dispute between Davis and SFX, Lindsay appears to be the first judge to weigh in on whether links to webcasts violate copyright law, McCullagh said.

“SFX will likely suffer immediate and irreparable harm when the new racing season begins in mid-December 2006 if Davis is not enjoined from posting links to the live racing webcasts,” Lindsay said. “The court agrees that if Davis is not enjoined from providing unauthorized webcast links on his website, SFX will lose its ability to sell sponsorships or advertisement on the basis that it is the exclusive source of the webcasts, and such loss will cause irreparable harm.”

Copyright © 2025 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

Texas Resumes AV Lawsuit Against Aylo Following SCOTUS Decision

A district court judge in Texas has unfrozen the state’s $1.6 million lawsuit against Aylo for allegedly failing to comply with age verification requirements, Bloomberg Law is reporting.

JuicyAds Wins Trademark Infringement Case Against Fraudulent Domain

JuicyAds has won its World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) case against a website using a similar domain to impersonate the company's site and defraud customers.

Anissa Kate, Jordan Starr Top AEBN for Q2 of 2025

AEBN has published its top-selling stars for the second quarter of 2025, with Anissa Kate landing atop the leaderboard for straight theaters and Jordan Starr heading up the gay rankings.

AEBN Reveals Eva Maxim as Top Trans Star for Q2 of 2025

AEBN has published its top trans stars list for the second quarter of 2025, with Eva Maxim landing atop the leaderboard.

France Reinstates Age Verification Rule for EU Sites

France’s highest court, the Council of State, on Tuesday reinstated age verification rules for EU-based sites under the country’s Security and Regulation of the Digital Space (SREN) law, ruling in favor of the French government and against Hammy Media.

Whisper Fans Joins Pineapple Support as Supporter-Level Sponsor

Whisper Fans has joined the ranks of over 70 adult businesses and organizations committing funds and resources to Pineapple Support.

Utherverse Launches 'Red Light Center' Virtual World

Virtual reality and metaverse technology company Utherverse has launched its new virtual world, RedLightCenter.io.

European Commission Approves AV Guidelines, Unveils Prototype App

The European Commission on Monday released its final, approved guidelines for protecting minors online under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) and made public a “white label” age verification app intended to help sites and platforms comply with age verification rules under the DSA.

Show More