Role of Intermediaries in Copyright Law and Information Technology Act: Balancing Rights and Responsibilities
Keywords:
Copyright Law, Safe Harbour Provision, Intermediaries, Copyright Violation, Online Content, Information Technology ActAbstract
Nowadays the digital environment is growing rapidly so the role of the intermediaries is also becoming a highlighting point. Intermediaries, such as various social media platforms, for example Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, play an important role toward people. Not just social media, but there are other mediums too which play a significant role as intermediaries including e-commerce platforms, Internet Service Providers (ISP), etc. In India, there are existing laws which protect the rights of intermediaries, but which
need to be more effective and elaborative, clearer and concisely updated with the current era. There are laws, such as Copyright Act 1957 and Information Technology Act 2000, which highlight the provisions related to intermediaries, for example Section 79 of IT Act 2000 which talks about the “Safe Harbour” provision which refers to a provision in law or regulation that offers protection from liability or penalty, provided certain conditions are met. This doctrinal study suggests in-depth exploration of intermediaries’ liability responsibilities toward new digital activity holders of the country and study of existing laws and highlights why we need more focus on this issue. For the study of this research, I referred to various articles, books, journals and expert opinions which gave me valuable insights to fulfill these gaps.
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