In re Aimster Copyright Litigation
Encyclopedia
In re Aimster Copyright Litigation, 334 F.3d 643
(7th Cir. 2003), was a case in which the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
addressed copyright
infringement
claims brought against Aimster, concluding that a preliminary injunction
against the file-sharing service was appropriate. The opinion was written by Judge Richard Posner
, known for his publications on law and economics
, and followed closely on the heels of the Ninth Circuit
's decision in A & M Records, Inc. v. Napster, Inc.
239 F.3d
(9th Cir. 2001).
The defendant
s argued that, unlike Napster
, they designed their technology in such a way that they had no way of monitoring the content of swapped files. The court held that this was willful blindness
on the defendant's part, and would not constitute a defense to a claim of contributory infringement.
The court further held that the Sony v. Universal
defense of "substantial noninfringing uses" was unavailable because Aimster had shown no evidence that its service was actually used for any noninfringing purposes. Lastly, the court held that the DMCA § 512 "safe harbors"
were unavailable because Aimster had done nothing to comply reasonably with Section 512(i)'s requirement to establish a policy to terminate repeat infringers and instead even encouraged repeat infringement.
Case citation
Case citation is the system used in many countries to identify the decisions in past court cases, either in special series of books called reporters or law reports, or in a 'neutral' form which will identify a decision wherever it was reported...
(7th Cir. 2003), was a case in which the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the courts in the following districts:* Central District of Illinois* Northern District of Illinois...
addressed copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
infringement
Copyright infringement
Copyright infringement is the unauthorized or prohibited use of works under copyright, infringing the copyright holder's exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works.- "Piracy" :...
claims brought against Aimster, concluding that a preliminary injunction
Preliminary injunction
A preliminary injunction, in equity, is an injunction entered by a court prior to a final determination of the merits of a legal case, in order to restrain a party from going forward with a course of conduct or compelling a party to continue with a course of conduct until the case has been decided...
against the file-sharing service was appropriate. The opinion was written by Judge Richard Posner
Richard Posner
Richard Allen Posner is an American jurist, legal theorist, and economist who is currently a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago and a Senior Lecturer at the University of Chicago Law School...
, known for his publications on law and economics
Law and economics
The economic analysis of law is an analysis of law applying methods of economics. Economic concepts are used to explain the effects of laws, to assess which legal rules are economically efficient, and to predict which legal rules will be promulgated.-Relationship to other disciplines and...
, and followed closely on the heels of the Ninth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is a U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* District of Alaska* District of Arizona...
's decision in A & M Records, Inc. v. Napster, Inc.
A & M Records, Inc. v. Napster, Inc.
A&M Records, Inc. v. Napster, Inc., 239 F.3d 1004 was a landmark intellectual property case in which the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the ruling of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, holding that defendant, peer-to-peer ...
239 F.3d
Case citation
Case citation is the system used in many countries to identify the decisions in past court cases, either in special series of books called reporters or law reports, or in a 'neutral' form which will identify a decision wherever it was reported...
(9th Cir. 2001).
The defendant
Defendant
A defendant or defender is any party who is required to answer the complaint of a plaintiff or pursuer in a civil lawsuit before a court, or any party who has been formally charged or accused of violating a criminal statute...
s argued that, unlike Napster
Napster
Napster is an online music store and a Best Buy company. It was originally founded as a pioneering peer-to-peer file sharing Internet service that emphasized sharing audio files that were typically digitally encoded music as MP3 format files...
, they designed their technology in such a way that they had no way of monitoring the content of swapped files. The court held that this was willful blindness
Willful blindness
Willful blindness is a term used in law to when an individual seeks to avoid civil or criminal liability for a wrongful act by intentionally putting himself in a position where he will be unaware of facts which would render him liable.For example, in a number of cases,...
on the defendant's part, and would not constitute a defense to a claim of contributory infringement.
The court further held that the Sony v. Universal
Sony Corp. of America v. Universal City Studios, Inc.
Sony Corp. of America v. Universal City Studios, Inc., 464 U.S. 417 , also known as the "Betamax case", is a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States which ruled that the making of individual copies of complete television shows for purposes of time-shifting does not constitute copyright...
defense of "substantial noninfringing uses" was unavailable because Aimster had shown no evidence that its service was actually used for any noninfringing purposes. Lastly, the court held that the DMCA § 512 "safe harbors"
Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act
The Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act is United States federal law that creates a conditional safe harbor for online service providers and other Internet intermediaries by shielding them for their own acts of direct copyright infringement as well as...
were unavailable because Aimster had done nothing to comply reasonably with Section 512(i)'s requirement to establish a policy to terminate repeat infringers and instead even encouraged repeat infringement.