As digital technology and the online environment transform the distribution and use of intellectual property, our Copyright & Trademark group is on the front lines in protecting and enforcing our clients’ most important creative assets. Our trial-tested team represents a wide range of clients, from entrepreneurs to major corporations, from playwrights to media giants, and from individual songwriters to the country’s largest performing rights organizations.
Copyright Law: Web Site Operators
August 2, 2004 Full PDF
The August 2 National Law Journal features an article written by Lewis Clayton entitled, "Copyright Law, Web Site Operators." The article analyzes how principles of direct copyright infringement apply to the Internet, focusing on CoStar Group Inc. v. LoopNetInc, where the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals became the first appellate court to rule definitively that a Web site operator that passively and innocently posts infringing material received from its users is not liable for direct infringement, even if it fails to qualify for the DMCA safe harbor. Lew indicates that if widely followed, CoStar may have significant implications for the many Web sites that post material from users with something to sell (such as eBay). CoStar can also be seen as part of a larger controversy: the extent to which commercial Web site operators will be liable for violations of IP rights--copyright, trademark or trade secret--that result from postings initiated by third parties. Drew Harris assisted in the preparation of this article.