copyright
Why is it possible to sue non-original distributers of Pirated items?
<p>I apologise in advance if this is a silly question.</p>

<p>Let's say you have a person A who bought a song from an online service, and is distributing it without permission. Person F obtains a copy of this song and distributes it himself.</p>

<p>I can understand why person A might be at risk of a lawsuit, as he's broken the contract agreed upon when purchasing the song. But Person F hasn't agreed to anything, hasn't signed any contracts and hasn't gone through a shrinkwrap agreement.</p>

<p>So why would Person F be at a risk of being sued?</p>

<p>Copyright law is not based on contracts, and does not require agreement. <em>No one</em> may distribute copies of a copyrighted work without permission from the copyright holder. For instance, in the US, both Persons A and F can be sued because <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/501" rel="noreferrer">Title 17, Section 501 of the US Code</a> says:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>(a) <strong>Anyone</strong> who violates any of the exclusive rights of the copyright owner ... is an infringer of the copyright or right of the author, as the case may be.</p>
<p>(b) The legal or beneficial owner of an exclusive right under a copyright is entitled ... to institute an action for any infringement of that particular right committed while he or she is the owner of it.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Copyright infringement isn't an issue of violating terms you agreed to with a private entity. Your duty to not infringe copyright was imposed by your country's legislature, who does not require your personal agreement to do that.</p>
