Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 (the CDA) provides immunity from liability for providers and users of an “interactive computer service” who publish information provided by others. However, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Fair Housing Council of San Fernando Valley v. Roommates.com, LLC that the Roommates.com roommate matching service was not entitled to immunity under Section 230 for claims brought under the federal Fair Housing Act. The court concluded that because of the manner in which the service elicited information from users concerning their roommate preferences, and the manner in which it utilized that information in generating roommate matches, the matching service itself created or developed that information within …read more

The IO Group, an adult entertainment company, didn’t care for its videos appearing on an Internet video-sharing website, Veoh Networks, without its permission.  It sued.  Unfortunately for the IO Group, a California court ruled that Veoh was protected by the safe-harbor provisions in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). The DMCA protects content-sharing websites from copyright infringement claims as long as they take certain measures in preventing copyright infringement, including taking down copyright content upon notice from the copyright owner.

Operators of content-sharing websites should avail themselves of the safer-harbors provisions of the DMCA, or else risk serious claims of copyright infringement.

For more on the court case, visit:

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/28/youtube-praises-dismissal-of-copyright-suit-against-veoh/?ref=technology

–Matt

Are you an online service provider (an OSP)?  The definition of an OSP in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act includes any “provider of online services or network access, or the operator of facilities therefor.”  The Electronic Communications Privacy Act defines two types of OSPs: “electronic communication services” and “remote computing services.”  If you are an OSP, or think you might be, make sure you understand your rights and responsibilities.  Visit http://www.eff.org/wp/osp, and talk to counsel about how to protect yourself.

–Matt

The Center for Social Media, in connection with other professional associations, has created the “Documentary Filmmakers’ Statement of Best Practices in Fair Use”.  The Statement attempts to advise documentarians on the theory and practice of fair use.  Fair use is a doctrine in copyright law that allows creators to use copyright material without the permission of the copyright owner.  A copy of the “Statement” can be found here:

http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/resources/publications/statement_of_best_practices_in_fair_use/

–Matt

A Harry Potter fan creates a “Lexicon” (a type of encyclopedia or companion book) for the famous literary series by J.K. Rowling.  Is such a work a “transformative” new work, and therefore a “fair use” of the copyrighted series, or is it a “derivative” work, and therefore under the exclusive control of the copyright owner?  In the case of the Harry Potter Lexicon, a District Court in New York ruled that the work contained too much copying and not enough transformation to be a “fair use” of Rowling’s books.  An appeal is pending.  A comprehensive look at the Court’s opinion can be found here:

http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20080909014304275

–Matt