Long title | To amend title 17, United States Code, to implement the World Intellectual Property Organization Copyright Treaty and Performances and Phonograms Treaty, and for other purposes, as part of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. |
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Acronyms (colloquial) | OCILLA |
Nicknames | DMCA 512; Safe Harbor |
Enacted by | the 105th United States Congress |
Effective | October 28, 1998 |
Citations | |
Public law | Pub. L. 105-304 |
Statutes at Large | 112 Stat. 2860 (1998) |
Codification | |
Acts amended | Copyright Act of 1976 |
Titles amended | 17 (Copyrights) |
U.S.C. sections created | 17 U.S.C. §§ 512 |
Legislative history | |
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Major amendments | |
None |
The Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act (OCILLA) is United States federal law that creates a conditional 'safe harbor' for online service providers (OSP), a group which includes Internet service providers (ISP) and other Internet intermediaries, by shielding them for their own acts of direct copyright infringement (when they make unauthorized copies) as well as shielding them from potential secondary liability for the infringing acts of others. OCILLA was passed as a part of the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and is sometimes referred to as the "Safe Harbor" provision or as "DMCA 512" because it added Section 512 to Title 17 of the United States Code. By exempting Internet intermediaries from copyright infringement liability provided they follow certain rules, OCILLA attempts to strike a balance between the competing interests of copyright owners and digital users.