The Scope of Jurisdiction in Cross-Border Intellectual Property Disputes: Tackling Online Copyright Infringements

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to analyse critically the problems stemming from the current model of enforcing protection in cases of online copyright infringements. The Internet allows for the easy dissemination and exploitation of copyrighted works globally. Remote and immediate access to content may result in simultaneous infringement on a worldwide scale. There is a long history of disputes over the enforcement of protection with regard to online copyright infringement, and while new laws and judgments are passed there are still no effective remedies nor consensus regarding a common approach to the problem of the multiplicity of applicable laws and jurisdictions in the event of infringement – a problem that derives mainly from the principle of the territoriality of intellectual property rights. Throughout the years there have been many attempts to solve it, mostly in the form of soft law instruments. None of the recommendations are binding, therefore the obligation to reconcile the right to the protection of copyright with the limits of the jurisdiction falls on national courts. As a consequence, the current legal status quo does not provide sufficient predictability to the outcome of litigation.