Copyright Holders Claim ISPs Don’t Have Blanket Immunity From Piracy

The US ISP requested a declaratory judgment from the New York federal court on its potential liability for pirating subscribers. However, music rights group BMG asked the court to dismiss this request, claiming that ISPs don't have "blanket immunity" against secondary infringement claims.

Back in 2016, a Virginia federal jury ruled that an ISP can be held liable for subscribers who share pirated files, and this ruling caused great uncertainty across the industry, with providers suddenly realizing they could become the next target. RCN was among the ISPs that are worried about the fallout. The company accounts for 400,000 subscribers across the country and regularly receives takedown requests for alleged copyright violations that take place on its network. These requests are largely submitted by BMG and its anti-piracy partner Rightscorp. They believe that the ISPs can be held liable for the actions of its subscribers.

RCN filed a lawsuit against BMG at a New York federal court in 2016, seeking a declaratory judgment on the matter and explaining that it is merely passing on traffic and therefore can enjoy the company protection under the DMCA’s safe harbor provision.

BMG disagreed and submitted a motion to dismiss the request at the New York federal court, arguing that the DMCA’s “safe harbor” doesn’t provide “blanket immunity” from copyright infringement claims. The music group stresses that the ISPs are required to adopt and implement a policy for the termination of repeat infringers to qualify for a safe harbor defense. As long as it is unknown how the ISP will deal with repeat infringers in the future, the court can’t grant a declaratory judgment.

Thanks to TorrentFreak for providing the source of the article.

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