Secondary Liability for Online Copyright Infringement: Recent Developments

Secondary liability for copyright infringement has been a hotly contested issue in several international jurisdictions.  In the United States (U.S.), secondary copyright liability has traditionally been determined through case law.  Whereas earlier cases involved responsibility for the performances of musical compositions in dance halls, or the sale of counterfeit recordings in retail outlets, more recent cases have involved internet service providers’ (ISPs) liability for the unauthorized distribution and communication of copyrighted works.  In 1998, the Digital Millenium Copyright Act enacted specific safe harbor provisions to limit ISPs’ liability as long as they abide by certain statutory requirements.  Yet in December 2015, a U.S. District Court held that Cox  Communications, one of the country’s biggest ISPs, could not avail itself of a safe harbor defence.  A federal jury thereafter found Cox liable for willful contributory copyright infringement.

What are the practical implications of this decision for ISPs?  What facts were central to the decision and others, and what might the outcome of been if the case had been litigated here in Singapore?  Fordham University Law Professor Hugh Hansen, Founder of the Fordham University Intellectual Property Law & Policy Conference and Director of the Fordham IP Institute will discuss these issues during this lecture.  Follow-up remarks will be provided by Lam Chung Nian, Head of Intellectual Property, Technology & Media, Telecommunications and Data Protections Practices at Wong Partnership.

SPEAKER

Hugh Hansen has taught intellectual property for many years.  His focus is on a legal realist understanding of how courts, agencies, legislatures and the private sector interact with IP law and each other.  In the same vein, he founded and directors the Fordham Intellectual Property Law & Policy Conference, and the Fordham IP Institute.  The Director General of WIPO called the Fordham IP Conference ‘the Davos of the IP world.’  Professor Hansen has written one IP book and edited many others.  He speaks frequently in the US and abroad.  The U.S. State Department sponsored a speaking tour for Professor Hansen in Japan, and Melbourne University did the same in Australia.  In intellectual property law matters, Professor Hansen has been lead counsel, consultant and expert witness in the U.S., U.L., German, and Polish courts.  Managing Intellectual Property Magazine named Professor Hansen one of the 50 most influential people in IP in the world three times.

COMMENTATOR

Lam  Chung Nian heads the Intellectual Property (“IP”), Technology & Media, Telecommunications, and Data Protection Practices at Wong Partnership.  He is a tutor for IP law in the Preparatory Course Leading to Part B of the Singapore Bar Examinations, an Associate Faculty at UniSIM, and a lecturer at the Graduate Certificate in IP Law programme, a course jointly organized by the IP Academy (Singapore) and the Faculty of Law, NUS.  Chung Nian is a Fellow of Mediators, Arbitrators, and Experts, as well as on the panel of mediators for the IPOS-WIPO initiative for Mediation for Proceedings Instituted in the IPOS.  He is the Vice Chair of the IBA Communications Law Committee, Hon. Secretary for the Asian Patent Attorney Association, and sits on the IP Committee of the Law Society of Singapore.

MODERATOR

Frank Rittman is a Founding Director of the Centre for Content Promotion.  Currently, an independent consultant operating primarily in the fields of media, entertainment, and cross-market development, Frank most recently served as the Senior Vice President, Deputy Managing Director, and Asia-Pacific Regional Policy Officer for the Motion Picture Association, a trade association representing six international producers and distributors of filmed entertainment.  Before that, Frank was the Vice President of International Affairs for the National Music Publishers’ Association and The Harry Fox Agency, Inc.  A native New Yorker, Frank began his career as the Director of Contracts &Copyrights for the Macmillan Publishing Company and his professional appointments include serving as a former Chairman of the New York Country Lawyers’ Association Entertainment Law Committee, as well as on the Board of Directors of CASBAA, the non-profit association representing pay-TV interests in the Asia Pacific region.

WELCOME ADDRESS

Irene Calboli is a Lee Kong  Chian Fellow, Visiting Professor, and Deputy Director of the Applied Research Centre for Intellectual Assets and the Law in Ascia (ARCIAL), School of Law, Singapore Management University.  She is also a Professor of Law at Texas A&M University School of Law.  Before joining SMU, Irene held a visiting professorship at the National University of Singapore Faculty of Law from 2012 to 2015.  She is a prolific author and has published several books, articles, and reports on various areas of intellectual property.  Her current scholarship focuses on the intersection between intellectual property and international trade.