netcom 1995: Religious Technology Center v. Netcom A federal judge in the Northern District Court of California ruled that Netcom, an Internet Service Provider (ISP), was liable for contributory infringement (as opposed to direct infringement) of copyright because the company did not remove copyrighted materials posted by a subscriber. Justice Whyte found that “mere possession of a digital copy on a [server] that is accessible to some members of the public” may not constitute direct infringement of the exclusive right to publicly distribute and display. The case was significant for its implications for Internet Service Providers’ knowledge of and liability for infringers’ activities, as well as their use of the fair use doctrine as an affirmative defense against charges of contributory infringement. In 1998, the DMCA limited the liability of “service providers” for some forms of infringement. For more information on ISP liability, see the Copyright Crash Course, “Is Your Library an Internet Service Provider Under the DMCA?”

white paper 1995: Release of the White Paper The culmination of the NII Working Group’s efforts was release of the white paper in September 1995. The white paper contained recommendations to amend the Copyright Act of 1976 and presented a lengthy legal analysis of current copyright law. The white paper’s legislative amendments and recommendations were introduced in Congress as the NII Copyright Protection Act of 1995 (S. 1284 and H.R. 2441).