> I wonder how can he be violating any law with respect to distribution of copyrighted content when he is not distributing anything
Anton Vickerman didn't host anything either. His site (surfthechannel) was also just a collection of links.
And, sure enough, he was held not to have committed any copyright-related offence.
So they got him on conspiracy to defraud [the record companies] instead. He's now serving a four year prison term after a private prosecution by FACT, a copyright industry trade organisation - an extraordinary move, initiated after the CPS (state prosecutors) refused to prosecute him. (Note: this is in the UK, not the US).
Anton Vickerman didn't host anything either. His site (surfthechannel) was also just a collection of links.
And, sure enough, he was held not to have committed any copyright-related offence.
So they got him on conspiracy to defraud [the record companies] instead. He's now serving a four year prison term after a private prosecution by FACT, a copyright industry trade organisation - an extraordinary move, initiated after the CPS (state prosecutors) refused to prosecute him. (Note: this is in the UK, not the US).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Vickerman
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/08/private-justice-h...