Efficient copyright filters for online hosting platforms

Alessandro De Chiara (University of Barcelona)
Ester Manna (University of Barcelona)
Antoni Rubí-Puig (Universitat Pompeu Fabra)
Adrian Segura (Universitat Pompeu Fabra)

Abstract

We build a model where an online hosting platform develops a copyright filter to screen
content that contributors wish to upload. The technology is imprecise, since non-infringing
material may be incorrectly filtered out. Once the content is hosted on the platform, a rightholder
may send a take-down notice if its own monitoring system, also imprecise, finds it
to be copyright infringing. The efficient design of regulation and liability calls for (i) giving
the right-holder incentives to evaluate fair use when submitting a notice and (ii) lifting
the safe-harbor protection granted to platforms that promptly remove content following a
take-down notice.

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