11/30/2016

ACA Supports Cox In Copyright Infringement Appeal

The American Cable Association in a legal brief urged a federal appeals court to protect Internet Service Providers against financially devastating penalties based on accusations of failing to terminate Internet access accounts of customers accused of copyright infringement under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

Congress specifically included provisions to shield ISPs from liability for their customers' unauthorized file sharing (such as music and movies) over the Internet. But a U.S. District Court ruling unfavorable to Cox Communications misinterpreted copyright law and put vital DMCA immunities into questions, exposing ISPs to millions of dollars in damages, according to ACA's court filing.

"ISPs rely on DMCA immunity in the face of what would otherwise be business-altering litigation risk. The DMCA safe harbor is vital to ISPs given subscribers' peer-to-peer file-sharing because ISPs lack the ability (or obligation) to monitor and investigate every instance a subscriber is alleged to use P2P applications to share infringing material," ACA President and CEO Matthew M. Polka said. Read more.