Skeeve wrote:
For any content that is freely available on the web what is the legality of acquiring this content and delivering it locally?
Define "freely available".
For example.. many TV stations are uploading full episodes onto their websites after the show has aired.
It's still covered by copyright (regardless of what one may think of the rights and wrongs of that). As Michael said, T&C will tell you a lot about what the publisher thinks you can and can't do with their content, and they WILL have contracted lawyers to look at this. Pointing to their content is one thing, Actually reusing it (even if in the same form) is a whole 'nother can'o'worms.
I am only talking about free content which is not paid for, but freely downloadable from websites.
"Free" as in beer does not mean "free" as in speech ;-)
Don't just deep link to someone elses content. Unless you have an explicit agreement with them, you will get a letter from a Lawyer. The rights extend way back to the original source. Even a TV station will be very careful. Strange things like the talent used in a commercial has to explicitly agree to release the content on the web as well as on TV and then in each case the geographic area is closely defined. So an Aust ad can't play in NZ without the talent being compensated (ie paid). In our case we produce and host a lot of content and do allow deep linking - but each URL is closely defined and given to only certain clients - and we always maintain copyright. We may not exercise copyright, but we maintain it. Where a client doen't have a clue, we assert copyright on their behalf. Everything is on a case by case basis.