ISP Third-Party Liability

In order to provide ISPs with a "safe harbor"-a way to avoid liability for copyright infringement-Congress passed the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and Online Copyright Infringement Limitation Act (OCILLA).

Specifically, the OCILLA limits the liability of online service providers for copyright infringement in situations where the ISP had no knowledge that the copyrighted material was being displayed or published without permission. However, the protection evaporates if the offending material is not removed expeditiously by the ISP from the site displaying the copyrighted material.

SIDEBAR: A special exception to the no knowledge requirement has been created for public and nonprofit educational institutions. The exception allows the schools to avoid liability even when the copyright offender is a member of the faculty or a research graduate student. Of course, the college or university must immediately block or remove the copyrighted material.