Exemption of Copyright Infringement Liability for Internet Service Providers & Abuse of Notice-and-Takedown Mechanism

網路數位環境下所呈現新著作利用樣態，於經濟效益上雖可為作品帶來新的商機，惟如利用不當，則可能使權利人蒙受極大經濟損失。在網路空間跨越傳統的地域疆界下，傳統法律規範不足以因應跨越國界的爭議，尤以網路著作中如何權衡著作權人、網路服務提供者及使用者三方關係間之權益，以達著作權法所致力調和社會公共利益以促進國家發展之意旨，為近年來國際社會所關注之議題。 觀察美國與我國著作權法之相關法規，不難察覺現行法多以強調保護著作權人之權利為主，而較少探討如何維護利用著作之使用人的權利。例如，就現行DMCA「通知/取下」機制之運作，似先推定著作權人已認定利用人為侵害著作權之人，並由網路服務提供者先為通知取下涉有侵權資訊之動作，嗣後始再通知著作利用人。因此本文試從探討合理使用的法律性質，在目前網路服務提供者僅有轉知義務而無審查權能下，於侵權通知時未考量合理使用，是否因而構成不實通知？再者，從該機制可能遭權利人濫用，進而不利於合理使用著作的使用人表現自由之現象，討論何謂濫用以及如何防止著作權人濫用通知取下之機制？網路服務提供者是否需先判斷合理使用再進行通知取下？在欲權衡著作權人與使用者間之利益下，網路服務提供者之定位為何？最後，是否須因應社會文化而擬對策以擴張合理使用認定之範圍？本文藉由比較美國DMCA、歐盟電子商務指令及我國著作權法之法制與實務案例，試從權利人、使用人以及網路服務提供者三方不同角度，並從為配合推動我國加入跨太平洋夥伴協定之政策方向進行檢視，提出實務運作上可能之弊端，進而改善現行法規範之不足。The new aspects of use for publications under the network-digital environment may provide the rights holders with new business opportunities in economic benefits, and yet in the meanwhile an improper use for such publications could also provide them with extremely high loss due to the digital characteristic of the Internet. When the realm of the Internet crosses over the traditional borders of nations, the traditional laws are inadequate to deal with cross-border issues, especially the ones regard to the balance of rights and interests, under the Copyright Law, among the copyright owners, the Internet Service Providers, and the users. Because the purpose of the Copyright Law aims to achieve the harmonization and the developments of the public and national interests, the related issues have caught attentions of the international society. By observing the provisions of the copyright laws currently in Taiwan and the United States, we can easily find that most of the provisions emphasize the protection of rights holders, more than the protection of users. For instance, the current Take Down mechanism implementing the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) presumes ongoing of a copyright infringement, and that through informing of the infringement from the copyright owner, the DMCA would require the Internet Service Providers taking down the infringing materials, and then informing the users. Considering the above issues, this paper endeavors to discuss the legal nature of Fair Use in order to understand whether the Internet Service Providers would cause false notices without taking the conditions of Fair Use into consideration for they are only obliged to notify but not to investigate the users. In addition, this paper needs to discuss the definition of misuse, the prevention of misuse of the Take Down mechanism by the right holders, whether the Internet Service Providers should do the Fair Use judgment before executing the Take Down Service, and the position of the Internet Service Providers comparing to the balance of interests of the copyright holders and of the users. This is because the Take Down mechanism of the DMCA could be misused by the rights holders, and results in a situation that is unfavorable to the users’ freedom of expression under the fair use condition. Finally, the author discusses whether it is necessary to expand the scope of Fair Use according to different social cultures. This paper strives to find out the possible abuses occurred in execution of the Take Down mechanism by referring to and comparing with the DMCA, the directive of Electronic Commerce of the EU, and the Copyright Act in Taiwan and their cases from the angles of the rights holders, the users, and the Internet Service Providers. Hopefully, the deficiency of current laws in Taiwan can be further examined so as to promote joining in the Trans-Pacific Partnership