Copyright Infringement Liability of Online Content Sharing Platforms in the US and in the EU after the Digital Single Market Directive: A Case Study

The EU copyright liability regime for internet service providers has significantly changed after the enactment of article 17 of the Digital Single Market Directive. Where two fairly similar systems once existed in the US and in the EU, there are now significant differences between the regimes with which service providers must comply in each region. This paper seeks to offer a practical view of the differences between both systems through a comparative analysis of the result that the application of each legal framework would have on an identical factual case. Specifically, this paper contrasts the decision reached by US courts in Capitol Records v. Vimeo with the hypothetical result that a EU court would deliver to those same facts in application of the Digital Single Market Directive