Willful blindness
Encyclopedia
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, persons transporting packages containing illegal drug
s have asserted that they never asked what the contents of the packages were and so lacked the requisite intent to break the law.
Such defences have not succeeded, as court
s have been quick to determine that the defendant
should have known what was in the package and exercised criminal recklessness by failing to find out.
A famous example of such a defence being denied occurred in In re Aimster Copyright Litigation
, 334 F.3d 643
(7th Cir. 2003), in which the defendant
s argued that the file-swapping technology was designed in such a way that they had no way of monitoring the content of swapped files. They suggested that their inability to monitor the activities of users meant that they could not be contributing to copyright infringement
by the users. The court held that this was willful blindness on the defendant's part and would not constitute a defence to a claim of contributory infringement.
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
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, persons transporting packages containing illegal drug
Drug
A drug, broadly speaking, is any substance that, when absorbed into the body of a living organism, alters normal bodily function. There is no single, precise definition, as there are different meanings in drug control law, government regulations, medicine, and colloquial usage.In pharmacology, a...
s have asserted that they never asked what the contents of the packages were and so lacked the requisite intent to break the law.
Such defences have not succeeded, as court
Court
A court is a form of tribunal, often a governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law...
s have been quick to determine that 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...
should have known what was in the package and exercised criminal recklessness by failing to find out.
A famous example of such a defence being denied occurred in In re Aimster Copyright Litigation
In re Aimster Copyright Litigation
In re Aimster Copyright Litigation, 334 F.3d 643 , 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...
, 334 F.3d 643
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), in which 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 the file-swapping technology was designed in such a way that they had no way of monitoring the content of swapped files. They suggested that their inability to monitor the activities of users meant that they could not be contributing to copyright 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" :...
by the users. The court held that this was willful blindness on the defendant's part and would not constitute a defence to a claim of contributory infringement.
See also
- Recklessness (law)
- Willful violationWillful violationIn the North American legal justice system system and in US Occupational Safety and Health regulations,willful violation is an "act done voluntarily with either...
- Vincible ignoranceVincible ignoranceVincible ignorance is, in Catholic ethics, a moral or doctrinal matter that could have been removed by diligence reasonable to the circumstances. It contrasts with invincible ignorance, which can not be removed at all, or only by supererogatory efforts Vincible ignorance is, in Catholic ethics, a...
- Requiem for a SpeciesRequiem for a SpeciesRequiem for a Species: Why We Resist the Truth about Climate Change is a 2010 book by Australian academic Clive Hamilton which explores climate change denial and its implications. It argues that climate change will bring about large-scale, harmful consequences for habitability for life on Earth...
- Willful Blindness (book)