Study On The Tortious Liability Of Internet Service Provider

Based on the well-developed experience from the statutes and judicial cases worldwide, the writer made a systematic study on the Internet Service Provider's tortious liability. The writer thinks that the tortious liability refers to the civil liability implemented either by ISP or other people who rely on the service provided by the ISP. ISP may be divided into Internet access provider (hereinafter refers as IAP) and Internet content provider (hereinafter refers as ICP) and their liabilities are not same .The liability hazard of IAP chiefly originates from two respects : one is the direct tortious liability, that is to say, when IAP is supplying the information transferring service as a kind of "Transferring pipes", it is uncertain whether they should take the copyright tortious liability for "usage" which contain copying ,Issuing and network transferring. The writer thinks that IAP's role as the "Transferring pipes " embody the regular function for their existence. The working process is voluntary, passive and inevitable. Then, the IAP is not subject to take tortious liability. The other is indirect tortious liability. It is still controversial whether the IAP will be responsible for the act of tort implemented by other people who rely on their transferring service. The writer thinks that IAP carries supervising obligation and assisting obligation for investigation, among which the supervising obligation is the main one .The supervising obligation consists of beforehand investigation and afterward control. In case ISP cannot meet therequirements to fulfill the beforehand investigation, afterward control or assisting duties in the "reasonable limitation " ,they will be subject to the indirect tortious liability. ICP may infringe the copyright, consumer's rights and interests, trade confidential, people's reputation, or privacy with many types of tort actions. The thesis made a study on some significant problems, such as statutory permission, the legal protection to the technical measures and copyright administrative messages. The writer thinks that copyright man enjoys internet propagation authority, moreover, if ICP propagate copyright man's works without his permission, ICP shall take their responsibility for copyright tort actions. Our country copyright law ought to make detailed stipulation on legal protection to technical measures and rights administrative messages, at the same time, the limitations and exceptions of above two aspects shall be regulated as well.