Pinterest and Copyright\u27s Safe Harbors for Internet Providers

Has the time come to substantially revise the Copyright Act to better adapt the law to the ever-evolving digital environment? A number of influential sources appear to think so. If their initiatives gain momentum, it will be important to consider lessons learned from the first such effort fifteen years ago when Congress made far-reaching changes to copyright law by extending the term of copyright for twenty years and by enacting a package of reform proposals known as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”). This Article intertwines the story of one important provision of the DMCA - safe harbors for Internet service providers (“ISPs”) - with a case study of Pinterest as a successful beneficiary of the DMCA’s safe harbor policy. While some improvements are needed to protect users of protected services against indiscriminate automated takedown notices and to encourage greater licensing of on-demand content, this case study illustrates why any reform entailing substantial reallocation of enforcement responsibilities from copyright owners to service providers would be problematic and would undermine the support for innovation embedded in this policy