Page 87 - A Study on the Role of UGC Platforms in Copyright Law：An Intermediary-oriented Approach

A Study on the Role of UGC Platforms in Copyright Law: Chapter 3 Copyright Rules for Online Intermediaries: From Safe Harbour to a New Intermediary Liability Scheme
An Intermediary-oriented Approach

3.3.3 Targeting users: A response to the failure to regulate P2P providers

Despite the incompatibility of the safe harbour doctrine and P2P, copyright owners have
found it difficult to impose liability on P2P service providers. Turning off ISPs has been
182
like a game of whack-a-mole. The legal victory against Napster only paved the way for
more decentralised P2P sharing networks to spring up across the world, from Aimster and
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AudioGalaxy, to LimeWire, Morpheus and Kazza, and to eDonkey and BitTorrent. It has
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been observed that although the copyright industry has won most of these legal battles, it
is still losing the war. With the lack of an effective rule to regulate online intermediaries,
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copyright owners have shifted their strategy to target the end users.
1) Launching lawsuits against users
The copyright owners’ first strategy was to require ISPs to disclose information on the
infringing users through the subpoena process under the DMCA. In the two months from
August to September 2003, more than 1,500 subpoenas were issued to ISPs in the US at the
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request of the music industry. In a single day, 8 September 2003, 261 American music
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fans were brought to court for sharing songs on P2P networks. From 2003 to 2008, 30,000
individuals, including children, grandparents, unemployed single mothers and college
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professors, were sued or threatened with suit by the recording industry. Instead of actually
bringing these individuals into the courtroom, the copyright industry sent threating letters
demanding an exact amount of payment to settle. It has been reported that most of the

182 Selene Presseller, ‘Copyright Infringement Via Social Media Live Streaming Shortcomings of the Digital Millennium
Copyright Act ’ (2017) 7 Arizona State University Sports and Entertainment Law Journal 357, 376.
183 John Borland, ‘Peer to Peer: As The Revolution Recedes’ (CNET News.com, 31 December 2001) < https://www.cnet.com/
news/peer-to-peer-as-the-revolution-recedes/> accessed 25 May 2019 ; John Borland, ‘P2P Users Traveling by eDonkey’
(CNET News.com, 28 August 2005) < https://www.cnet.com/news/p2p-users-traveling-by-edonkey/> accessed 25 May 2019
184 RIAA has brought suits against Napster, Scour, Aimster, AudioGalaxy, Morpheus, Grokster, Kazaa, Imesh and Limewire.
Courtney Macavinta, ‘Recording Industry Sues Music Start-up, Cites Black Market’ (CNET News.com, 2 January 2002) <
https://www.cnet.com/news/recording-industry-sues-music-start-up-cites-black-market/> accessed 18 May 2019. (Napster);
Thomas C. Green, ‘MPAA, RIAA Sue Scour Over Copyrights,’ (The Register, 24 July 2000) <https://www.theregister.
co.uk/2000/07/24/mpaa_riaa_sue_scour_over/> accessed 20 May 2019 (Scour); John Borland, ‘RIAA sues Aimster Over
File-Swapping’ (CNET News.com, 25 May 2001) <https://www.cnet.com/news/riaa-sues-aimster-over-file-swapping/>
accessed 21 May 2019 (Aimster); John Borland, ‘Suit Hits Popular Post-Napster Network’ (CNET News.com, 3 October
2001) <https://www.cnet.com/news/suit-hits-popular-post-napster-network/> accessed 21 May 2019 (MusicCity, Kazaa and
Grokster); John Borland, ‘Audiogalaxy Hit by RIAA Suit’ (CNET News.com, 24 May 24 2002) <http://zdnet.com.com/2100-
1106-922904.html> accessed 25 May 2019 (AudioGalaxy); John Borland, ‘RIAA Sues iMesh File-Trading Firm’ (CNET
News.com, 19 September 2003) <https://www.cnet.com/news/riaa-sues-imesh-file-trading-firm/> accessed 24 May 2019
(iMesh); Ed Oswald, ‘RIAA Sues LimeWire Over Piracy’ (BetaNews, 4 August 2006) <https://betanews.com/2006/08/04/
riaa-sues-limewire-over-piracy/> accessed 24 May 2019 (LimeWire); Electronic Fronter Foundation (EFF),‘RIAA v. The
People: Five Years Later’ (30 September 2008) <https://www.eff.org/wp/riaa-v-people-five-years-later> accessed 13 May
2009.
185 EFF, ‘RIAA v. The People: Five Years Later’ (n 184).
186 Ibid.
187 John Borland, ‘RIAA Sues 261 File Swappers’ (CNET News.com, 8 September 2003) <https://www.cnet.com/news/riaa-sues-
261-file-swappers/> accessed 24 May 2019.
188 David Kravets, ‘File Sharing Lawsuits at a Crossroads, After 5 years of RIAA Litigation’ (WIRED, 8 September 2008) <
https://www.wired.com/2008/09/proving-file-sh/> accessed 23 May 2019.

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