Cartier International, along with a number of other large companies, have won a legal battle to oblige internet service providers (ISPs) to block websites that were infringing their IPR (Intellectual Property Rights).
The case involved several websites that were advertising and selling counterfeit goods.
The ISPs did not dispute that copyrights had been violated but contended they were not obliged to intervene or to police the internet.
The judge considered he had jurisdiction to order the ISPs to block the offending websites and the Court of Appeal upheld that decision.
The Court of Appeal accepted that the ISPs were not guilty of any wrongdoing. They had not infringed the trademarks, nor had they teamed up with the website operators to offer counterfeit goods for sale.
The ISPs did not owe the claimant companies a duty of care to guarantee that their services were not used by the website operators. The question was whether there was a principled basis for making injunctions against the ISPs, who were aware that their services were being used by third parties to infringe registered trademarks and other IPRs.
The operators of the target websites needed the ISPs’ services to sell their counterfeit goods to UK consumers. The ISPs were therefore essential contributors in the illegal activities and so the court had jurisdiction to make an order obliging them to block the offending websites.
The court was also entitled to insist the ISPs bear the implementation costs of the orders.
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Case featured:
Companies win dispute over blocking counterfeiting websites
[2 016] EWCA Civ 658
(1) CARTIER INTERNATIONAL AG (2) MONTBLANC-SIMPLO GMBH (3) RICHEMONT INTERNATIONAL SA (Claimants) v (1) BRITISH SKY BROADCASTING LTD (2) BRITISH TELECOMMUNICATIONS PLC (3) EE LTD (4) TALKTALK TELECOM LTD (5) VIRGIN MEDIA LTD (Defendants) & OPEN RIGHTS GROUP (Intervener) (2016)
CA (Civ Div) (Jackson LJ, Kitchin LJ, Briggs LJ) 06/07/2016