Copyright in Cyberspace: Sword and Shield in the Dissemination of Online Content

摘要

Over the last year, we have seen novel copyright assertions and complications in copyright defenses when plaintiffs confront the ever-widening ease and proliferation of online content distribution. We saw plaintiffs assert copyright interests in a component of a larger copyrighted work in order to stop content distribution, fight expansion of fair use in order to slow the widening uncompensated electronic distribution of copyrighted materials in academia, and attack DMCA safe harbor defenses based on defendant involvement with user content. Novel assertions of copyright performance rights, such as in Garcia, may not show up again soon. However, we do expect to see continued complexities in the application of the fair use defense to many kinds of digital content redistribution, and we will be watching for further clarification from the courts on the limits of the DMCA safe harbor defenses and the elements of service provider liability for infringement when those defenses are unavailable.