Telran vs. Charlton – The Israeli Approach to Anti-Circumvention Law Under Copyright
IIC - International Review of Intellectual Property and Competition Law (175), Forthcoming
7 Pages Posted: 30 Jan 2014
Date Written: January 29, 2014
Abstract
The Israel Supreme Court held that:
1. Secondary liability for copyright infringement prerequisites an act of direct infringement.
2. Viewing technologically protected broadcasts that are subject to copyright exclusivity while applying satellite decoding cards is not a direct infringement of copyright, since mere viewing does not implicate any exclusive right under the Copyright Act of 1911.
3. Selling and distributing decoding cards that can decrypt scrambled satellite signals of copyrighted broadcasts do not subject the seller and distributor to secondary infringement liability.
The comment reviews the decision of the Supreme Court and provides some observations regarding the notion and application of anti-circumvention bans in a jurisdiction where such bans have not been enacted (yet).
Keywords: copyright, anti-circumvention, broadcasting, Israel
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