Internet Law Commons^™

Religious Technology Center V. Netcom On-Line Communications Services, Inc.: The Knowledge Standard For Contributory Copyright Infringement And The Fair Use Doctrine, Eugene A. Burcher, Anna M. Hughes

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

With 30 million people connected worldwide and the ability to rapidly transfer large amounts of data, the Internet poses a great threat to owners of intellectual property. The Internet's rapid growth has led to substantial speculation about how courts will apply intellectual property law concepts to conduct in cyberspace. On November 21, 1995, U.S. District Judge Ronald Whyte ruled that an Internet Service Provider (ISP) could be liable for contributory copyright infringement when a subscribing member directly infringes a copyright.