DMCA potentially to force service provider offline
January 2, 2003 -- (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) -- The enforcement of digital piracy and intellectual property legislation in
the United States might force an Internet and hosting service offline within
the month.
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The Thing (isp.thing.net), an independent service provider that has offered
Internet connectivity and Web design services to the New York City artistic
community, was notified by its upstream provider, NTT/Verio, that its was in
violation of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA).
The Thing provided Web space to an artistic organization that created a
parody Web site of Dow Chemical. The site extracted numerous trademarks,
images, texts and designs taken directly from Dow's Web site. Dow Chemical
alleged that the parody Web site infringed upon the Dow's copyright and
trademark protections. Dow Chemical also alleged that the parody Web site
also was a violation of the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act,
since the site used the domain name, "dow-chemical.com," which incorporated
the distinctive Dow trademark. Dow Chemical also claimed that the parody
Web site defamed its reputation through release of a falsified press
statement.
As a result of a complaint issued to Verio by Dow concerning these
violations, Verio responded by shutting down The Thing's entire network, an
action that affected hundreds of The Thing's clients, until the parody site
was removed on Dec. 4.
Shortly afterward, Verio's lawyers informed the company that its service
would be permanently severed on Feb. 28, 2003.
