SAN FRANCISCO, March 4, 2016: Farella Braun + Martel LLP represented Public Knowledge, Electronic Frontier Foundation, the American Library Association, the Association of College and Research Libraries, and the Association of Research Libraries in filing an amicus curiae brief in support of Giganews, an online newsgroup host, in the case of Perfect 10 v. Giganews, which is pending before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The brief argues that online services are not directly liable for any potential copyright infringement performed by their users, and further that the doctrine of vicarious copyright liability should not be expanded to cover situations where an online service provider did not receive a direct financial benefit from infringement of the plaintiff’s copyright. Amici urge the court to maintain the important protections provided to innovators of new technologies and services that have developed over the last several decades by affirming the district court ruling.

“If appellant were to succeed, technology innovators whose products or services were used by others to infringe would face such crippling financial liability that they would have no choice but to become content police or shut down,” said Deepak Gupta, a partner in Farella’s Intellectual Property Litigation Department. “This would, ironically, stifle the creation of new technologies that are spreading knowledge and learning, values that lie at the heart of copyright.”

Farella counsel of record for amici are Deepak Gupta, Anthony P. Schoenberg and Kelly Woodruff.

Link to Giganews amicus brief.

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