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Vol 7 No 1 - Roger Williams University School of Law

Vol 7 No 1 - Roger Williams University School of Law

Vol 7 No 1 - Roger Williams University School of Law

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any infringing material either upon notification <strong>of</strong> a rights holderor upon gaining awareness <strong>of</strong> the prohibited activity.153Information Location ToolsOCILLA also <strong>of</strong>fers a similar safe harbor for ISPs that provideinformation location tools, such as search engines, that link usersto other web sites indiscriminately.154 This defense is also limitedby the intermediate knowledge standard, and includes therequired notice and take down provisions mentioned above.155To be eligible for these liability limitations, ISPs are requiredunder OCILLA to designate an agent to receive notifications <strong>of</strong>copyright violations <strong>of</strong> their networks156 and must implement apolicy for the termination <strong>of</strong> subscribers’ accounts who repeatedlyact in violation <strong>of</strong> copyright law.157The safe harbor provisions limiting ISP copyright liability aredirectly related to specific functions performed by Internetproviders, and protect ISPs from liability only for the innocuoustransmission, copying, hosting, or linking <strong>of</strong> third-party contentmaterials that the provider does not itself create or control. Theseliability limitations are specific, and better assess the role <strong>of</strong> theInternet provider in infringing conduct than does the blanketimmunity for content provided by the CDA. The limitingprovisions listed in OCILLA reflect the careful scrutiny <strong>of</strong>Congressional debate and lobbying on the part <strong>of</strong> both copyrightowners and Internet service providers.As a result <strong>of</strong> this lengthy process, the safe harbors outlinedin OCILLA have served as a model for other countries to follow incodifying copyright limitations on ISP liability. OCILLA’s limitingprovisions have not, however, been restricted to defining thelimitations on copyright liability in other countries. This paperwill now address the horizontal approach to ISP liability currentlybeing implemented in the European Union. This approach appliessafe harbors almost identical to those in OCILLA to all forms <strong>of</strong>potential ISP liability, creating a uniform, predictable minimum153. See id.154. See id. § 512 (d).155. See id. § 512(b)(2).156. See id. § 512 (c)(2).157. See id. § 512(I)(1)(A).

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