Court: ISP Not Responsible When Subscribers Infringe Copyrights

In a case brought by EMI against one of Germany’s largest Internet service providers, a court has ruled that the ISP cannot be held liable when its subscribers infringe copyright. Music giant EMI wanted the ISP to block a certain file-sharing site but the court decided otherwise and dismissed the case.

After calls to the Russian host of a file-sharing site to shut down the service failed, in early 2010 a leading music label launched legal action against one of Germany’s largest ISPs.

Although the identities of the plaintiff, defendant and file-sharing site are redacted from court papers, the case reference (28 0 362/10) reveals a lawsuit between EMI Music and ISP HanseNet Telekommunikations. Read more...