To Cache or Not to Cache – That is the Question; P2P ‘System Caching’ – The Copyright Dilemma

72 Pages Posted: 3 Sep 2010 Last revised: 24 Sep 2015

See all articles by Assaf Jacob

Assaf Jacob

The Interdisciplinary Center Radziner School of Law

Zoe Argento

Independent

Date Written: September 1, 2010

Abstract

This paper explores the legal ramifications of the prevalent Internet Service Provider practice of providing caching services to P2P network users. First, the paper describes the P2P industry, its benefits and drawbacks. Then the paper discusses several caching techniques that can be implemented, and indeed are implemented, by ISPs around the globe. These practices allow ISPs to provide clients with better services but also expose them to copyright infringement suits by third parties. The article will discuss how copyright law should consider the costs and benefits to the public of P2P caching practices, especially in the application of legal doctrines such as direct and indirect infringement and fair use. In doing so, the article will build on recent interpretations by the courts regarding the general practice of caching. In light of policy considerations, the article will suggest reconsidering the scope of legal liability and safe harbor protection provided to ISPs with respect to caching practices. The authors’ argument is that unlike the consensus regarding the “orthodox” Cyberspace and World Wide Web, there is still no agreement on the legal approach to P2P services. Opinion is in fact divided between two schools – those who endorse P2P services and emphasize their current and potential future uses and those who focus on the mass infringing activity conducted via the P2P platform. These differences between the two polar schools will be exacerbated in the context of P2P caching due to its amplification of the costs and benefits of the use of P2P networks.

Suggested Citation

Jacob, Assaf M. and Argento, Zoe, To Cache or Not to Cache – That is the Question; P2P ‘System Caching’ – The Copyright Dilemma (September 1, 2010). Whittier Law Review, Vol. 31, p. 421, 2010, Roger Williams Univ. Legal Studies Paper No. 92, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1670289

Assaf M. Jacob

The Interdisciplinary Center Radziner School of Law ( email )

P.O. Box 167
Herzliya, 46150
Israel
972-9-9527280 (Phone)
972-9-9568605 (Fax)

Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?

Paper statistics

Downloads
340
Abstract Views
2,666
Rank
142,838
PlumX Metrics