How does a “notice and notice” regime work? How will it help to curb the misuse of the Internet for infringing purposes?
A. Under the proposed “notice and notice” regime, an ISP will be required to forward any notice it receives from a copyright owner to a subscriber who is alleged to be engaging in infringing activities online. The ISP will also be required to retain, for a set period of time, information sufficient to identify the subscriber in question. Through this regime, rights holders will have a mechanism for notifying Internet users that their activities may be infringing the rights holders’ copyright. In the event that such activities lead to litigation, the record-keeping requirement will better enable identification of the parties alleged to be involved. In this respect, however, the regime will not require disclosure of the identity of a subscriber; in order to protect Internet users’ legitimate expectations of privacy, a court order will be required.
