Internet service providers cheered provisions in the
recently passed Digital Millennium
Copyright Act that limited their liability for copyright infringements
made by their customers. This week, they learned the protection wouldn’t be
free.
Late Tuesday, the Copyright Office of the Library of Congress published
interim regulations that became effective immediately establishing rules
for dealing with any infringement claims.
Those interim regulations stipulate that until the rules enacted Tuesday
are replaced with final guidelines, ISPs must pay a $20 filing fee when
they designate an agent that will receive infringement claims.
The Copyright Office warned that fee will likely go up when the final
regulations are set. The rulemaking process to establish the final rules,
which will include a public comment period, will likely take several weeks.