We’re not the Internet content police, says ICANN
ICANN has declared it is not, and cannot be, a content regulator.
In a recent blog post, ICANN’s Chief Contract Compliance Officer, Allen R. Grogan, states ICANN “was never granted, nor was it ever intended that ICANN be granted, the authority to act as a regulator of Internet content”.
Accordingly, despite calls for it to do so, ICANN will not use the 2013 Registry Accreditation Agreement to require a registrar to determine whether a website is engaged in illegal activity, to demand that a website operator or registered domain name owner cease illegal activity, or to suspend a domain name if a website operator or registered domain name owner does not cease illegal activity.
UK court extends ISP site blocking remedy to online trademark infringement
The UK High Court has held that trademark holders may be granted site-blocking injunctions against ISPs, despite the absence of an express provision to that effect in the legislation.
Site-blocking injunctions pursuant to s97A CDPA are now well established in relation to online copyright infringement. The judgment in Cartier International and Others vs BSkyB and others could pave the way for a similar regime in respect of online trade mark infringement, reports Bird & Bird.
Italy implements administrative take-down of sites selling fake goods
The Italian Antitrust Authority now has the power – limited to the Italian territory – to shut down clone websites selling counterfeit or pirate goods.
IP Law Galli reports that the Antitrust Authority has used its power to shut down hundreds of clone websites in response to complaints lodged by IP rights owners.
UK court issues simplified foreign pirate website blocking orders
The UK High Court has made a court order requiring UK ISPs to block access to three hugely popular peer-to-peer file-sharing web sites based outside the UK.
The court order requires BSkyB, British Telecom, Everything Everywhere, TalkTalk, Telefonica and Virgin Media to block access to H33T, Fenopy, and KAT, on the ground that each service provider “has actual knowledge of another person using their service to infringe copyright”.
As Wragge & Co reports, the court let the claimants off the task of trying to find the operators of the websites in order to formally serve them with notice of the application, accepting it would be pointless to do so.
Substituted service of Australian legal documents via Facebook
Over recent years, a trend has emerged where Australian courts are permitting the service of documents to be effected through Facebook and other social networking sites, reports Colin Biggers & Paisley.
Pirate Bay’s move to the cloud is futile, says anti-piracy body
The Federation Against Software Theft (FAST) has denounced the Pirate Bay’s move to the cloud as useless, saying measures already exist for governments to access cloud data in cross-border criminal investigations.
The Pirate Bay’s move to the cloud is just the latest phase in the on-going technological war between those who wish to proliferate illicit copies and those trying to stop them, reports DMH Stallard.
Megaupload’s motion to dismiss federal charges denied by US federal court
The foreign corporation behind the alleged piracy website Megaupload.com has failed in its bid to have criminal copyright charges dismissed on the grounds that it lacked a US mailing address and therefore could not be properly served service of process, reports Arent Fox.
Google’s Brazilian chief arrested over allegedly defamatory YouTube videos
Police arrested Google Brazil head Fabio Jose Silva Coelho on 27 September over his refusal to remove two videos on Google’s YouTube that allegedly slander, insult and defame an election candidate, IP Watch reports.
This is not the first time that Google officials have been either arrested or slapped with charges for the defamatory videos or other content that were earlier made available by its users on the internet.
Even worse, as a result of the pervasive nature of the internet, even Google officials who reside or work in the company’s headquarters in the United States have found themselves being pursued by local courts and authorities outside the US – a case of jurisdictional dilemma in the age of the internet.
Megaupload cites lack of jurisdiction in attempt to dismiss US charges
Attorneys for Hong Kong-based Megaupload have filed a motion to dismiss the US government’s charges of mass copyright infringement, arguing that a foreign corporation that lacks a US office is not subject to jurisdiction within the United States (Arent Fox)
Megaupload’s file-hosting services at one time claimed 180 million users and allegedly generated hundreds of millions of dollars by encouraging users to post movies, music, and other copyrighted material that the company knew was stolen.
Megaupload challenges U.S. indictment
In the latest twist in one of the largest Internet piracy actions brought by the U.S. Government to date, attorneys for Megaupload.com and its founder, Kim Dotcom, are challenging whether the United States had the right to bring the action waged against Megaupload and its executives this past January (Baker Hostetler)
- IP Professor | Lawyer | Arbitrator | Mediator
CONTACT
