Liability of Hosting providers for User-generated Content

Abstract Whenever the courts are called on to deal with the cases of liability of hosting providers for copyright infringements in different contexts, standards shift. Nonetheless, the core issues remain invariable: hosting provider’s knowledge regarding illegal content and the way it reacts to notice-and-take-down procedure. A new piece has been added into the puzzle in recent years, namely the Polish case of Chomikuj.pl. This paper’s purpose is to compare the scope of hosting providers’ liability for user-generated content in the United States (U.S.) and the European Union (EU), placing the spotlight on the Chomikuj.pl case, which may offer a major contribution to the discussion. The key issues entail knowledge and awareness constituting hosting provider’s liability for the infringing content on its platform, alongside the establishment of adequate notice-and-take-down procedure to hold the infringing party responsible.