Does The Current "Safe Harbor" Regime Still Advance Contemporary Copyright Protection On The Internet

With the emergence of the internet,internet service providers(ISPs)have begun to serve as a medium between internet users and the cyber world.During the early years when internet service was becoming more widespread,ISPs made profits by charging users a fee to access the internet,or by charging subscribers for use of communication platforms like websites.Due to the imperceptibility of information-transmission on the internet,some users have taken advantage of the services provided by ISPs and have uploaded copyrighted works without authorization from the copyright holders.The ISPs were suspect of being liable for playing a vicarious role in these copyright infringements conducted by their users.However,during that time,the ISPs were not using the infringing contents directly and did not have an intent to infringe copyrights.Therefore,the 1998 US Digital Millennium Copyright Act(DMCA)established a "safe harbor" for the ISPs to be protected from copyright infringement liabilities.The 2000 EU E-Commerce Directive(ECD)also referred to the "safe harbor principle" in limiting ISPs' liability in infringing activities.These two leading models of the safe harbor principle have significantly influenced many other states,and the implementation of the safe harbor principle faces similar problems around the world.For example,there are discrepancies in global practice of the notice-and-take-down(NTD)mechanism(which has been widely used in implementing the safe harbor principle),such as discrepancies in the standards for the ISPs' "knowledge" of the infringing activities conducted by users,or in what constitutes "notification" in this mechanism,and more.Additionally,due to the differences in legal systems and legal cultures,the practice of the safe harbor principle also faces different challenges in different countries.For example,as a principle established in a country that has a civil law system,the safe harbor principle conflicts with certain legal regulations in countries that have statute law systems,and when the safe harbor principle is implemented in different legal cultures,it is possible that an action forbidden in one country is acceptable and functions well in another country.Therefore,it isclear that the implementation of the safe harbor principle is not an issue in which"one size fits all".In addition,with the development of information technology,the Web 2.0 era has changed information-transmission models.Changes in ISPs' business models during this time mean that ISPs are not only an intermediary but also a benefiting party in today's information society.In order to gain more profits from advertising,the ISPs have to attract more users with contents that are appealing,which may include many copyrighted works.In the context of recent social and technological changes,the traditional safe harbor principle set up a relatively low threshold for ISPs to exempt liability,and this principle cannot advance copyright protection on the internet.Additionally,the legal actions of implementing the safe harbor principle around the world have been facing more and more problems and incompatibility,and the author believes that the safe harbor principle cannot live up to current copyright protection on the internet and needs updating.Regarding the problems in implementing the NTD mechanism,the author suggests an alternative to the NTD mechanism along with other co-regulatory methods like "Notice-and-Notice","Graduated Response",and "Site Blocking and Filtering".In addition,since the legal actions of the safe harbor principle have not functioned well in fighting piracy,the author suggests supplementing the safe harbor principle with appropriate non-legal actions like "Revenue Sharing between the ISPs and the Right Holders",and "Creative Commons",to give incentives for the ISPs,the internet users,and the copyright holders to cooperate in protecting copyright on the internet.One thing should not be ignored is that the legal culture should be carefully considered when practicing the safe harbor principle.Through the improvements above,it is highly possible that the safe harbor principle may better balance the interests of different parties in the cyber society and advance copyright protection on the internet.