Managing Intellectual Property

ECJ to hear questions on ISP liability

04 February 2010

James Nurton, London

The Brussels Court of Appeal has asked the European Court of Justice to rule on two questions regarding the liability of internet service providers (ISPs) for peer-to-peer file sharing

The questions were referred in a ruling on January 28 in a dispute between the music collecting society Sabam and ISP Scarlet (now owned by Belgacom).

The case began in 2004 when Sabam sued Scarlet alleging that it allowed users to infringe copyright by downloading music using P2P websites.

In 2007 a judge at the Brussels Court of First Instance ordered Scarlet to implement technical measures to make it impossible to exchange infringing material using P2P.

The company was also required to pay fines while the illegal file sharing continued.

Scarlet challenged that ruling, arguing that appropriate, affordable software was not available to block the infringing content. In 2008, the order was overturned pending an appeal.

The Court of Appeal heard the case in November and December last year.

Managing IP understands that the two questions to be referred to the ECJ address are whether ISPs can be compelled...



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