There have been various attempts in various jurisdictions to regulate the
content of PATV programming under the guise of gate-keeping, first against
obscenity, and then for the ostensible protection of copyright holders. As
a NYS representative of the Alliance for Community Media, I have been
monitoring this very closely. Where this regulation has been carried out by
some CATV companies, there has necessarily followed uneven application
thereof that, from the producer's and audience's points of view, was
indistinguishable from selective enforcement. It is apparent that this same
danger exists with granting ISPs this power. Neither ISPs nor CATV systems
should be judge and jury over copyright, and other content, issues; this
role belongs rightly to the courts.
DDeBar
----------
> From: Norman J. Jacknis <njacknis@ix.netcom.com>
> To: 'watpa@westnet.com'
> Subject: FW: Bill to take ISPs off copyright hook
> Date: Saturday, July 19, 1997 10:55 PM
>
> Forwarded message:
>
> http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,12580,00.html?dtn.head
>
> Bill to take ISPs off copyright hook
> By Courtney Macavinta
> July 18, 1997, 12:40 a.m. PT
>
> Internet access providers would not be
> responsible for software pirates or copyright
> thieves who break the law using their
> services if a bill introduced yesterday in the
> House of Representatives becomes law.
>
> Rep. Howard Coble (R-North Carolina) and
> Rep. Henry Hyde (R-Illinois) are pushing the
> Online Copyright Limitation Liability Act,
> which exempts online services and ISPs from
> liability for copyright violations on their
> networks if the companies don't know about
> the illegal activity and never benefit financially
> from the acts.
>
> Services can also skirt responsibility for
> linking to pirated material unless it's proven in
> court that the links were actual endorsements
> of the illegal material. The bill also says
> companies shouldn't have to police their
> customers' activity. "A red flag should not be
> ignored, but a provider should not ordinarily
> be required to go out and search for red
> flags," Coble's analysis of the bill states.
>
> For businesses such as America Online, the
> bill's passage would be good news because
> they wouldn't be accountable for customers'
> deeds, something they face now. "Under
> current law, a person is liable for direct
> infringement..with or without knowledge of
> infringement," the analysis states.
>
> During the World Intellectual Property
> Organization's December conference in
> Geneva, Switzerland, ISPs, the American
> Library Association, and telephone
> companies also fought a international treaty
> provision that would have forced them to
> police patrons or customer activities for
> copyright violations because it held them
> responsible for all infringements over their
> services. The treaty was changed by the 157
> global delegates at the last minute, a victory
> for Net access providers.
>
> But the proposed bill is not gaining kudos in
> all corners of the online industry. Software
> publishers fear its passage will lead to more
> illegal copying and distribution of their
> products, which means lost profits. In
> addition, companies may not want to sell
> products online if their copyright protections
> are weakened.
>
> "This is bad for e-commerce because
> companies will be reluctant to put their best
> software on the Net," said Mark Traphagen,
> vice president of government affairs for the
> Software Publishers Association, one of the
> largest software industry trade associations
> with more than 1,200 members.
>
> "Current law in some circumstances holds
> online providers liable and provides an
> incentive for online providers to use
> responsible business practices," added
> Traphagen. "This change will let them to turn
> their head away when they know piracy is
> going on. Now, we just have to prove that
> illegal copying took place. This legislation
> means we have to prove that services
> profited from it or had knowledge...This is
> impossible on the Net."
>
> The bill's authors designated Rep. Bob
> Goodlatte (R-Virginia) to conduct meetings
> with service providers and intellectual
> property rights owners to negotiate further
> terms of the bill. Goodlatte conducted similar
> meetings last summer.