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Advanced Copyright Issues on the Internet - Fenwick & West LLP

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Specifically, under Secti<strong>on</strong> 512(a), a Service Provider is not liable for m<strong>on</strong>etary relief,and is subject <strong>on</strong>ly to limited injunctive relief, for “transmitting, routing, or providingc<strong>on</strong>necti<strong>on</strong>s for, material through a system or network c<strong>on</strong>trolled or operated by or for <strong>the</strong>service provider, or by reas<strong>on</strong> of <strong>the</strong> intermediate and transient storage of that material in <strong>the</strong>course of such transmitting, routing, or providing c<strong>on</strong>necti<strong>on</strong>s, if:(1) <strong>the</strong> transmissi<strong>on</strong> of <strong>the</strong> material was initiated by or at <strong>the</strong> directi<strong>on</strong> of a pers<strong>on</strong> o<strong>the</strong>rthan <strong>the</strong> service provider;(2) <strong>the</strong> transmissi<strong>on</strong>, routing, provisi<strong>on</strong> of c<strong>on</strong>necti<strong>on</strong>s, or storage is carried out throughan automatic technical process without selecti<strong>on</strong> of <strong>the</strong> material by <strong>the</strong> service provider;(3) <strong>the</strong> service provider does not select <strong>the</strong> recipients of <strong>the</strong> material except as anautomatic resp<strong>on</strong>se to <strong>the</strong> request of ano<strong>the</strong>r pers<strong>on</strong>;(4) no copy of <strong>the</strong> material made by <strong>the</strong> service provider in <strong>the</strong> course of suchintermediate or transient storage is maintained <strong>on</strong> <strong>the</strong> system or network in a manner ordinarilyaccessible to any<strong>on</strong>e o<strong>the</strong>r than anticipated recipients, and no such copy is maintained <strong>on</strong> <strong>the</strong>system or network in a manner ordinarily accessible to such anticipated recipients for a l<strong>on</strong>gerperiod than is reas<strong>on</strong>ably necessary for <strong>the</strong> transmissi<strong>on</strong>, routing, or provisi<strong>on</strong> of c<strong>on</strong>necti<strong>on</strong>s;and(5) <strong>the</strong> material is transmitted through <strong>the</strong> system or network without modificati<strong>on</strong> of itsc<strong>on</strong>tent.”This safe harbor will not be available to a Service Provider that initiates, selects, ormodifies <strong>the</strong> c<strong>on</strong>tent of a transmissi<strong>on</strong>, or stores it <strong>on</strong> a system in a way that its c<strong>on</strong>tent becomesgenerally accessible to third parties.The safe harbor of Secti<strong>on</strong> 512(a) has been tested in <strong>the</strong> following cases to date:a. The Napster Case. In <strong>the</strong> Napster case, discussedextensively in Secti<strong>on</strong> III.C.2.(c)(1) above, Napster moved for summary judgment that it wasimmune from <strong>the</strong> plaintiffs’ claims by virtue of <strong>the</strong> Secti<strong>on</strong> 512(a) safe harbor. Napster arguedthat it fell within <strong>the</strong> subject matter of <strong>the</strong> safe harbor because its “core functi<strong>on</strong>” was to offer <strong>the</strong>“transmissi<strong>on</strong>, routing, or providing of c<strong>on</strong>necti<strong>on</strong>s for digital <strong>on</strong>line communicati<strong>on</strong>s” byenabling <strong>the</strong> c<strong>on</strong>necti<strong>on</strong> of users’ hard-drives and <strong>the</strong> transmissi<strong>on</strong> of MP3 files “directly from<strong>the</strong> Host hard drive and Napster browser through <strong>the</strong> <strong>Internet</strong> to <strong>the</strong> user’s Napster browser andhard drive.” 1686 Napster argued that it satisfied <strong>the</strong> preceding five specific c<strong>on</strong>diti<strong>on</strong>s for <strong>the</strong> safeharbor because “(1) a Napster user, and never Napster itself, initiates <strong>the</strong> transmissi<strong>on</strong> of MP3files; (2) <strong>the</strong> transmissi<strong>on</strong> occurs through an automatic, technical process without any editorialinput from Napster; (3) Napster does not choose <strong>the</strong> recipients of <strong>the</strong> MP3 files; (4) Napster does1686 A&M Records Inc. v. Napster, Inc., 54 U.S.P.Q.2d 1746, 1749 (N.D. Cal. 2000).- 368 -

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