ISP liability for third party copyright infringement: A comparative analysis for setting international standard norms

Abstract

The rapid expansion of the Internet has greatly expanded the context in which copyright infringement can occur. ISPs largely remain the gateway through which end users access the vast flow of digital content traveling throughout cyberspace. Unfortunately, ISPs are at the receiving end of many disputes involving IPR violations. The difficulty in pinpointing the real culprit has resulted in a situation where the ISP is often taken to the court.The paper examines such situations where the ISPs have been involved into litigations for third party copyright infringement across the globe. An attempt has been made to highlight the problems in such litigations and how it has affected the industry. An analysis has been made of all the laws passed by the legislations of various countries which has created a limit in the liability of ISPs in various countries if the ISP follows certain guidelines. Special emphasis has been given to the decisions of the courts of these countries after the creation of such limitations and an analysis has been done of whether such exceptions have infact served the purpose or not. Finally the paper is concluded with the basic purpose and theme of the paper which is to create an international standard guideline and in doing so the point that the individual countries legislations wont have an effective control over the problem has been highlighted and this is the reason why an international body like WIPO and WTO has to enter to control the situation.