What liabilities could ISPs face? (And what can FanFic authors expect from their ISPs?
As more companies deal with FanFic through ISPs, it is important for ISPs and FanFic authors to know what rights they have. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”) establishes a “safe harbor” from liability for ISPs that exercise no control over content other people provide. If your ISP fits under the safe harbor provisions, then it will not face monetary damages, only a possible injunction. Under the safe harbor provisions, you as the author are entited to notice that the ISP might take your story down, and you can issue a counter-notice claiming that your work is not infringing. For more on how the DMCA Safe Harbor counter-notification procedures can protect your work, click hereDMCA Safe Harbor Provisions. The DMCA also has certain other procedural requirements that allocate the burdens between copyright holders, ISPs and individuals. Specifically, the copyright holder has the burden to find the ISPs that carry the offending material.
