Criteria of Exemption from Liability of an Information Mediator Allowing an Opportunity for Placing a Material in an Information-Telecommunication Network

The present work analyzes the application of the criteria of exemption from liability of an information mediator allowing an opportunity for placing a material in an information-telecommunication network for violation of intellectual rights. Today the problem of regulating the liability of information mediators remains relevant even after several years of the existence of article 1253.1 of the Civil code of the Russian Federation, as some questions of the specified article remain unresolved, and judicial practice demonstrates ambiguous approach in relation to separate types of information mediators. Regulation of the legal status of information mediator in USA and European Union is more specific, although not perfect, as well. There is Russian and foreign doctrine and judicial practice of recent years used in order to analyze the latest trends related to the considered category of information mediator - information mediator allowing an opportunity for placing a material in an information-telecommunication network. The first chapter of the work reveals the status of information mediator in Russian, American and European jurisdictions, as well as identifies persons belonging to the category of information intermediary, allowing an opportunity for placing a material in an information-telecommunication network in accordance with article 1253.1 of the Civil code of the Russian Federation. The second chapter focuses on the criteria of granting immunity from liability of the category of the information mediator under discussion and the effectiveness of the existing enforcement of law. On the basis of the investigated material there is a conclusion to be made regarding the significance of contribution of the appropriate interpretation of the relevant criteria for establishing the balance of interests of a rightsholder, a user and an information mediator.