(Moderator's note: CIX is the main organization in the U.S. representing Internet service providers. The full text of the posting is in our ftp site in the Net-Suppression directory at the end of the Church-of-Scientology-Raids article.--Andy) Sender: "Craig A. Johnson" <•••@••.•••> My comment: I think that this will be an increasingly important issue for ISPs and for cyber rights in general, as various groups use the ambiguity of the copyright and intellectual property laws to beat Net providers about the head and shoulders. The letter and post from Bob Collett below frames the issue very clearly. Craig =================================================== All: below is a synopsis of the status and history of the copyright infringement cases between the Church of Scientology and ISPs, and CIX's associated activities. Best regards. Bob Collet President, CIX Dear CIX-members: below is a synopsis of the history and status of complaints by the Church of Scientology against ISPs FACNET, Digital Gateway Systems (DGS) and CIX member Netcom. As we did with Prodigy v. Stratton-Oakmont appeal, CIX counsel, Piper and Marbury, will provide a thorough amicus, i.e., friend of the court brief, to support the ISP case. The following, provided by Piper, describes ISP areas of concern. Bob Collet President, CIX ====================================================================== ===== Suits By Scientologists for Internet Postings May Determine Liability Rules for ISPs A series of law suits brought by the Church of Scientology in U.S. courts for postings of religious texts on the Internet pose another liability threat for ISPs arising from the actions of their customers or subscribers. These suits are part of a larger effort by the church, which also has taken legal action in Finland and the Netherlands, to halt the posting on the Internet of certain materials. The exposure that ISPs face in these suits underscores the dangers posed by overly broad interpretations of the Copyright Act, and make real the concerns CIX has voiced regarding new copyright legislation introduced in Congress. This new legislation, introduced by Senator Hatch and Congressman Moorhead at the request of Patent Commissioner Bruce Lehman, would alter the Copyright Act and, unless amended, would clearly hold ISPs liable for any infringing communication carried through their systems. Action on this legislation is not expected until next year. In the absence of new legislation, the decisions in these "Scientology cases" will set legal precedents on the liability of ISPs under copyright law for the actions of their customers or subscribers. Consequently, in addition to lobbying for changes in the proposed copyright legislation, CIX will continue to monitor the developments in these cases and intends, where appropriate, to file "friend of the court" briefs to ensure that the judges are fully aware of the impact their decisions will have on the future of the Internet and the ISP industry. ~=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=~=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=~-~=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=~=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=~ Posted by Andrew Oram - •••@••.••• - Moderator: CYBER-RIGHTS (CPSR) You are encouraged to forward and cross-post messages for non-commercial use, pursuant to any redistribution restrictions included in individual messages. ~=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=~=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=~-~=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=~=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=~
