Passive ISP Not Liable for Posting of Copyrighted Material by Subscriber

Addressing the issue of an internet service provider’s liability for copyright infringement of materials posted on its website, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit recently affirmed a district court’s grant of summery judgment in favor of the ISP where it posted the infringing materials at the direction of a customer. CoStar Group, Inc. v. LoopNet, Inc., Case No. 03-1911, 2004 U.S. App. LEXIS 12123 (4^th Cir. June 21, 2004).

The defendant, LoopNet, is an ISP whose website allows subscribers, generally real estate brokers, to post listings of commercial real estate on the internet. The plaintiff, CoStar Group, is a national provider of commercial real estate information which maintains a database of information on commercial real estate markets and commercial properties. Although not an ISP in the traditional sense, LoopNet provides a "web hosting service" that allows users to post real estate listings, many of which include photographs of the properties, on its website.