Cloud technology: high in the sky

The phenomenon of cloud computing has taken off in recent years, as accessing stored files across multiple devices becomes a business necessity, as well as a personal luxury.

Many cloud subscribers now use these services as their personal hard drives, and the potential for infringers is correspondingly growing. But just what constitutes an infringement in the cloud, who owns the content and who is accountable? These are just some of the interesting questions to consider.

Sharing

Every time a subscriber accesses a file stored in his or her ‘cloud’, they’re connecting to the cloud service provider’s remote server. According to www.howstuffworks.com, the US state of Oregon hosts Google’s data centre, a group of buildings each the size of an American football field.

Users have the option of storing any kind of digital content they like here. However, as the server is technically making copies of the file, the user may be liable for infringement if he or she sends a link to someone else’s copyrighted content to another person without permission.