The Digital Millennium Copyright Act, signed into law in late 1998, limits the liability of Internet and Online Service Providers in some instances. The law is intended to overturn cases in which Internet Service Providers (ISPs) were held liable for copyright infringement even though they were not responsible for actually posting the infringing material. The court had treated them like traditional publishers who have absolute liability for the material contained within their publications.
The so-called Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act exempts ISPs from liability for claims of copyright infringement when the claims are based solely on the providers transmitting or providing connections for materials through a system or network controlled by the ISP or by reason of the ISP's permitting storage of material in the course of such transmitting or route, provided the ISP take certain specified steps. The ISP is also immunized from allegations of contributory
