Why was someone arrested over the TV Links website?
The Guardian looks into the legitimity of arresting someone over the TV Links website. “According to the Gloucester police, the arrest was carried out for alleged violations of Section 92 of the Trade Marks Act. … Alex, writing on the Impact blog from UK law firm Freeth Cartwright, agrees. “On the facts that we know so far, it is difficult to see how the providing of links to infringing copies of TV shows gives rise to a civil or criminal liability under UK law,” he said. The Trade Marks Act may not fit the alleged crime. “The Trade Marks Act makes the unauthorised use of trade marks in relation to goods an offence; but this is a law that was written to catch counterfeit goods,” said Kim Walker, head of intellectual property at Pinsent Masons. “The provision of links is surely a service, not a sale of goods. It seems an unlikely way to deal with the problem.” Alex at Freeth Cartwright says: “Such links might constitute an offence under other parts of copyright law (distributing infri
