FYI, This was discussed in the already-OT thread "Beware : a very bad precedent set" a week ago. On Mon, Sep 7, 2009 at 11:59 AM, Gadi Evron <ge@linuxbox.org> wrote:
Gadi Evron wrote:
Jury Exacts $32M Penalty From ISPs For Supporting Criminal Websites
http://darkreading.com/securityservices/security/cybercrime/showArticle.jhtm...
Corrected URL:
http://darkreading.com/securityservices/security/cybercrime/showArticle.jhtm...
'Landmark case' indicates that ISPs may be held liable if they know about
criminal activity on their customers' Websites and fail to act
A federal jury in California this week levied a total of $32 million in damages from two Internet service providers that knowingly supported Websites that were running illegal operations.
In a lawsuit brought by fashion company Louis Vuitton, a jury ruled that two ISPs -- Akanoc Solutions and Managed Solutions Group -- knew about counterfeit Vuitton goods that were being sold on their customers' sites, but didn't act quickly to pull the plug on those sites. The decision was first reported on Tuesday.
The ruling has been called a landmark decision by some legal experts, who note that ISPs historically have been protected by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which limits service providers' liability for criminal actions that take place on their networks.