A Reflection on Civil Liability of Copyright Infringement of Internet Service Providers

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In this Internet environment, people can upload, download, store information, and shares. However, a large number of television programs, albums and music without copyright owners' authorized are in a circulation, thus make it a breeding ground for illegal and crime. Copyright issues of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are critical to all circles in recent years. After the model of the United States (U.S.) Supreme Court’s case – MGM v. Grokster in 2005, there had been a succession of legislative enactments on the ISPs' copyright liability in many countries around the world. Taiwanese Copyright Act amended the provisions of “Inducement Rule” in 2007 by consulting the decision of Grokster. Also amended Chapter 6-1 in 2009, establishing a safe harbor for ISPs and reduce the risk of litigation primarily from the “DMCA” of the U.S. This Article explores the relationship between ISPs' civil liabilities and current safe harbor rules, and reexamines its legal policy on the copyright issues. Moreover, this Article provides "Verkehrspflicht" to establish the action duty of ISPs as legislative proposals, and expect to balance the different interests of copyright owners, ISPs, and their users.