Attorney Marvin Cable Discusses an Interesting Case About Copyright and Wifi Liability

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America (Free-Press-Release.com) February 9, 2012 -- Marvin Cable, as a lawyer concentrating in online intellectual property issues, representing both plaintiffs and defendants, describes an issue that the public should be aware of.

PEOPLE IN MASSACHUSETTS WITH OPEN WIFI ROUTERS COULD BE FOUND NEGLIGENT FOR NOT SECURING THEM. FURTHERMORE, THE CONSEQUENCES MAY HAVE MAJOR IMPACTS ON DAILY LIFE. BEYOND PEOPLE BEING FOUND NEGLIGENT, EVERY DAY CAFES, LIBRARIES, LAUNDROMATS, SCHOOLS, AIRPORTS, AND HOTELS MAY CHOOSE TO SECURE OR ELIMINATE ACCESS IN ORDER TO AVOID LIABILITY.

A complaint filed in Massachusetts U.S. District Court, (Link to complaint: http://bit.ly/wifineg (Liberty Media Holdings, LLC v. Swarm Sharing, United States District Court, D. Massachusetts, Civil Action No. 11-cv-10802-WG) on January 23, 2012, claims individuals who operate open wifi routers are liable for the use of their open wifi by another individual committing some legal wrong because reasonable people “take steps to secure their Internet access”.

This is a case of first impression -- this legal issue has not yet been brought to U.S. District Court of Massachusetts. The outcome of this case could determine whether operating an open wifi router is per se negligent, making open wifi operators liable for the illegal use of the open wifi users.

The case involves defendants who separately downloaded a video via a peer-to- peer network. The defendants did not have permission to download the video file and therefore are accused of violating the plaintiff’s copyrights. During the download process, an agent of the plaintiff scanned the peer-to-peer network and recorded identifying information of the downloader. The identifying information was limited to identifying the person/entity who is paying the bill (the “internet subscriber)”, not identify the computer, or person who made the illegal download. The plaintiff named the internet subscribers as defendants. Many of the defendants claimed they had an open wifi connection and they did not directly download nor infringe the copyrights. The plaintiff, however, said that reasonable people secure their wireless connection to prevent illegal activity, and those who did not secure the wireless access allowing copyright infringement to occur, are negligent and should be held liable. The defendants face penalties of actual damages or statutory damages ranging from several hundred to one-fifty thousand dollars, plus attorneys fees.

Attorney Marvin Cable stated that predicting the outcome of this case is difficult, as there is no legal precedent for negligent copyright infringement. Attorney Cable remarked that his negligence theory is a novel theory, both in Massachusetts and throughout United States. Also, the plaintiff has a high hurdle to overcome. Not only is there no case law or statutory basis for the claims, defendants might find immunities under a “safe harbor” protection in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and under a definition in the Communications Decency Act. Furthermore, the Copyright Act may completely preempt any state law claims, like negligence.

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