“Microsoft’s Kerberos letter to Slashdot was sent from its
“designated agent” JK Weston, but he’s no cloak-and-dagger man. The
US Digital Millennium Copyright Act requires a designated agent to
be appointed, which Microsoft appears to have done, and the details
to be filed with the Copyright Office at the Library of Congress.
The DMCA implements the provisions of the WIPO treaties that the US
signed in 1996.”
“The Online Copyright Infringement Liability Act, passed at the
same time, clarifies the legal liability of ISPs for copyright
infringement and creates safe harbours to make it possible for ISPs
to escape copyright liability claims in certain circumstances, such
as when they act like common carriers – which Slashdot does not, in
the sense of having editorial control over its content.”
“One remedy might be for Slashdot to provide hyperlinks to a
web site outside the US that had the information that Microsoft
wants suppressed, but to remove the alleged offending content from
its own site. The European Union Copyright Directive does not cover
the liability by online service providers.“