Graduated response schemes and the question of parental liability

摘要

In Australia, copyright holders are making a strong push for the introduction of a graduated response scheme. Though there are variants, the archetype of the graduated response scheme is the "three strike" policy whereby internet users are warned when they are detected infringing copyright on the internet; after the third infringement, the user's connection may be terminated. However, because an account holder may not be responsible for the infringement, with these schemes comes the possibility of users being disconnected from the internet despite having committed no wrong. Parents who allow their children to use the internet at home are therefore susceptible to disconnection when their child infringes copyright, and this raises an important question: are parents legally responsible for their child's copyright infringement on the internet? This article considers this question by examining: (1) the doctrine of parent liability in tort law; (2) the doctrine of authorisation liability in copyright law; and (3) the grounds for liability in ISP contracts.