Intellectual Property Rights Infringement on Internet

The topic “Intellectual Property Rights Infringement on the Internet: An Analysis of the Private International Law Implications” has become increasingly important as the Internet has revolutionized the traditional understanding of the rules of private international law which govern the determination of jurisdiction in the case of intellectual property rights infringement over the Internet.

The private international law of intellectual property has until recently been both straightforward and based on traditions, geographical boundaries and physical space.

However, the ubiquitous nature of the Internet has brought new challenges in the area of the private international law of intellectual property, which lawmakers, judges and lawyers have to deal with. In particular, the private international law of intellectual property needs somehow address the fact that many of the actions and effects of intellectual property rights infringement within the territory of a particular Member State will not actually have physically taken place there. For example, material protected by intellectual property law can be uploaded in one state, downloaded in another, and viewed in a large number of other states. This means that the intellectual property rights infringers and the owners of intellectual property rights are often miles apart, while the infringers might never have set foot in the country or region where the harm occurs. Moreover, damage is typically suffered in multiple states simultaneously

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