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[FYI] Copyright infringement in the on-line world



http://www.mipnetwork.com/DisplayMIPstory.asp?StoryID=256

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United Kingdom - Copyright infringement in the on-line world  

The EU Copyright Directive and the E-Commerce Directive contradict 
each other on the question of ISP liability, argue Mark Owen and 
Richard Penfold of Harbottle & Lewis in London  

In the on-line world, the question of intellectual property 
infringement, and who should be liable for it, is a vexed one. Almost 
every business wants to exploit the Internet and make money. On the 
other hand, however, everyone wants to pass liability to someone 
else. This includes the liability for infringements of IP rights. One 
question in particular, of how far Internet service providers (ISPs) 
should be liable for IP infringements has been a controversial topic 
for some time.  

Computer games industry grows twitchy about ISP liability  

Traditionally, the music industry has been most concerned about the 
exploitation and misuse of rights on the Internet and has (at least 
until now) been at the forefront of the rightsholders lobby in 
demanding a proper framework for protecting and exploiting 
intellectual property on the Internet. Recently, however, it has been 
the computer games publishing industry which has championed the cause 
for rights owners in the battle against, in particular the ISPs’ view 
that: It’s nothing to do with us and therefore we should not be 
liable.  

The debate for the computer games lobby centres around two pieces of 
(conflicting) EU legislation. The first is the proposed directive on 
Copyright and Related Rights in the Information Society (the 
Copyright Directive) and second is the proposed directive on 
Electronic Commerce (the E-Commerce Directive).  

[...]

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