At present, neither UK trade mark law nor English common law principles provide a basis to hold internet intermediaries liable for trade mark infringements. This book considers reforms aimed at gaps in the existing legal framework. This book also examines alternative remedies, such as notice and takedown and injunctions.

Despite the apparent advantages of the internet, there is little debate that it facilitates intellectual property infringements, including infringements of trade mark rights. Infringers not only remain hidden by the anonymity the internet provides but also take advantage of its increasing reach and the associated challenges with regard to cross-border enforcement of rights. These factors, among others, have rendered the internet a growing source of counterfeit and other infringing products. It has, therefore, become necessary for right holders to shift their focus from individual infringers to internet intermediaries, such as Internet Service Providers (ISPs), hosts and navigation providers, which are responsible in numerous ways for making content promoting infringements available to internet users. In light of these developments, this book conducts a comprehensive analysis of the liability of such intermediaries for trade mark infringements and considers the associated issues and challenges in the diverging approaches under which liability may be imposed. At present, however, neither UK trade mark law nor English common-law principles relating to accessorial liability provide a basis to hold internet intermediaries liable for trade mark infringements. As such, this book considers approaches adopted in some of the Continental European countries and the US in order to propose reforms aimed at addressing gaps in the existing legal framework. This book also examines alternative remedies, such as notice and takedown and injunctions, and discusses the associated shortcomings of each of these remedies.

This book provides a comprehensive, authoritative, and state-of-the-art discussion of fundamental legal issues in intermediary liability online, while also describing advancement in intermediary liability theory and identifying recent policy trends.

Internet intermediaries play a central role in modern commerce and society. Although their economic and social importance is well-recognised, their legal liability remains poorly understood, and, until now, no work has specifically addressed their legal responsibility for wrongdoing carried out by third parties using their facilities or platforms. This work fills that gap by providing comprehensive coverage of the legal duties owed by intermediaries and the increasingly complex schemes that regulate their activities. The first part of the work introduces the concept of an internet intermediary, general doctrines of primary and secondary liability, and the European enforcement regime. The second part examines the liability of intermediaries in specific areas of law, with a detailed analysis of the applicable liability rules, and the major English case law, and decisions of the Court of Justice that interpret and apply them. The final part of the work provides guidance on remedies and limitations. Written by an expert author from the intellectual property chambers at 8 New Square, Lincoln's Inn, this is an essential guide for lawyers advising on liability, privacy, and online regulation.

In this study, Professor Seng seeks to identify the possible commonalities among different liability doctrines. The study is divided into two parts, the first consisting of a “Survey of National Legislation and Jurisprudence on the Liability of Internet Intermediaries in the Field of Copyright and Related Rights”, covering 30 jurisdictions.

This book analyses the doctrinal structure and content of secondary liability rules that hold internet service providers liable for the conduct of others, including the safe harbours (or immunities) of which they may take advantage, and the range of remedies that can be secured against such providers. Many such claims involve intellectual property infringement, but the treatment extends beyond that field of law. Because there are few formal international standards which govern the question of secondary liability, comprehension of the international landscape requires treatment of a broad range of national approaches. This book thus canvasses numerous jurisdictions across several continents, but presents these comparative studies thematically to highlight evolving commonalities and trans-border commercial practices that exist despite the lack of hard international law. The analysis presented in this book allows exploration not only of contemporary debates about the appropriate policy levers through which to regulate intermediaries, but also about the conceptual character of secondary liability rules.

Internet intermediaries play a central role in modern commerce and the dissemination of ideas. Although their economic and social importance is well-recognized, their legal liability remains poorly understood, and, until now, no work has specifically addressed their legal responsibility for wrongdoing carried out by third parties using their facilities or platforms. This work fills that gap by providing comprehensive coverage of the legal duties owed by intermediaries and the increasingly complex schemes that regulate their activities. The first part of the work introduces the concept of an internet intermediary, general doctrines of primary and secondary liability, and the European enforcement regime. The second part examines the liability of intermediaries in specific areas of law, with a detailed analysis of the applicable liability rules, and the major English case law, and decisions of the Court of Justice that interpret and apply them. The final part of the work provides guidance on remedies and limitations. Written by an expert author from the intellectual property chambers at 8 New Square, Lincoln's Inn, this is an essential guide for lawyers advising on IP matters and disputes involving internet content.