CCIA, Tech Companies Ask Court To Rehear, Remedy Copyright Case Involving DMCA Issues

Washington — The Computer & Communications Industry Association has filed a joint amicus brief Monday night in a copyright case. The previous ruling, if left unchanged, could threaten important liability protections for some internet sites that review user-posted content before it appears online. CCIA joined several of its members and other tech companies in asking the Ninth Circuit to rehear the Mavrix v. LiveJournal case and clear up the murky decision. The brief points out that the Ninth Circuit’s ruling deviated from the text, structure and legislative history of the DMCA, all of which the panel ignored. CCIA and fellow amici argue that a rehearing is warranted not merely because of the panel’s errors, but because the serious practical consequences of its decision would be so significant. One such consequence could be that providers “scale back or abandon beneficial efforts to prevent illegal or offensive content from being posted” — a move that would be detrimental to online services, their users and copyright holders.