Indirect Responsibility Of Internet Service Providers

The swift development of internet technology leads to theexpediency of information communication. At the same time, it providesconvenience for copyright infringement. Copyright owners always accusethe Internet Service Providers(ISP) to claim their rights. Because of thespecial status, which responsibility the ISP should take is a key question.The law system of our country can't support to impute the ISP and bringsa hard problem to judicature. But in foreign countries, the research oninternet-infringement, including legislation and justice, has got a greatachievement and establish the ISP second liability system, which balancesthe right between copyright owners and internet industry. It is veryimportant to research the foreign countries' law for the remedy of ourcountry's copyright law.One of the actions in copyright law is to be a balance system. In theage of network, the effort of copyright law is to make equation betweencopyright owners and internet industry. The thesis bases on this theoryand tries to combine the copyright owners and ISP to resist the internetcopyright infringement.This thesis begins with the value of second liability, then reviews thesecond liability system in foreign countries, especially in America andsums up their experience. At last the author suggests establishing secondliability system in our country on the base of our own status of legislationand judicature. The thesis has been divided into four parts. The first partfocuses on the summary of second liability system. ISP means the thirdparty providing information communication service in network. Theyhave four characters, including necessarily, neutrally, automatically,easily-infringing, and should take second obligation because of thespecifically relation with pirates. The article forms the value of second liability in the view of nomology, philosophy, economics and actual effect,and construes its inscapes. The second part introduces the second liabilitysystem in foreign countries. First the legislation mode in variouscountries of Anglo-American law system and Continental law system ispresented. There are two kinds in Second liability, contributoryinfringement liability and vicarious liability. Then I take American lawfor example to analyze their inscapes. About contributory infringementliability, the knowledge requirement is mainly introduced, and theconclusion is that the new flexible rules are needed in network time. Invicarious liability, the thesis introduces the history of test standard,which forms two steps and emphasizes the ISP's surveillance duty tobalance the interest of copyright owners and ISP. At last, the article sumsup their experience. The third part analyzes our own current status. Aftercomparing the rule of our own law with seCond liability system, we canfind that we are lack of the theory and legislation of indirect infringement.But at the same time, we have some judgments referring to indirectinfringement and two typical cases are chosen to construe. In the forthpartⅠput my opinion to establish the second liability system in ourcountry. This part is separated into two arrangements. The firstarrangement is about the necessary of the establishment, such as makingup the law lack, meeting the requirements of technology and order innetwork, improving efficiency, balancing the interests and so on. Thesecond arrangement refers to the choice of legislation structure and therules design. A full system include the subject, the duties of ISP, the faultliability principle, contributory infringement liability, vicarious liabilityand the remedy of liability restriction system.