Did I commit copyright infringement?

[hoopler]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Florida

I recently came upon a website through Google, and with the link that Google provided I was able to access the index of the website. I didn't think much of this since it isn't that uncommon for websites to leave the index open for public viewing. Well, I clicked on 2 files, which were downloaded to my laptop. After another minute or so, I saw the main page of the site and noticed that the files I had downloaded were actually meant to be bought and not just openly downloaded. After seeing this, I immediately deleted the files I had downloaded and sent an email to the administrator of the website to let them know that I had downloaded some files, not realizing they were supposed to be bought, and also to let them know that their "pay" files were visible to the public and that they should fix their site.

My question is, did I do the right thing in alerting the administrator to the problem, or did I set myself up for some kind of copyright lawsuit because of the files I had downloaded and deleted? What are the chances someone would or could come after me for this? They haven't sent me any emails in response, and I've been freaking out all day over it.

Any help or advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Florida

I recently came upon a website through Google, and with the link that Google provided I was able to access the index of the website. I didn't think much of this since it isn't that uncommon for websites to leave the index open for public viewing. Well, I clicked on 2 files, which were downloaded to my laptop. After another minute or so, I saw the main page of the site and noticed that the files I had downloaded were actually meant to be bought and not just openly downloaded. After seeing this, I immediately deleted the files I had downloaded and sent an email to the administrator of the website to let them know that I had downloaded some files, not realizing they were supposed to be bought, and also to let them know that their "pay" files were visible to the public and that they should fix their site.

My question is, did I do the right thing in alerting the administrator to the problem, or did I set myself up for some kind of copyright lawsuit because of the files I had downloaded and deleted? What are the chances someone would or could come after me for this? They haven't sent me any emails in response, and I've been freaking out all day over it.

Any help or advice is greatly appreciated.

Without knowing the details (ie, what files you downloaded), I would think that your deleting of the files and your alerting the administrator of the site to the problem was the right thing to do and that you are probably in no danger of receiving a notice of infringement.

Copyright infringement suits are expensive to pursue and most copyright holders are concerned primarily with someone profiting off their work.

I would not worry about anything unless you receive something from the administrator of the site indicating you should worry. If that unlikely event occurs, you would be smart to seek the advice of an attorney in your area.