Limitation of Online-Service Providers' Liability. Without prejudicing existing case law, ''safe harbors'' are provided to limit copyright remedies against online-service providers in specific instances.8)_and_footnotes(n137);.vk n137 These safe harbors either provide immunity from damages or other monetary relief for copyright infringement for qualified service providers or limit the service providers' exposure to injunctive relief in specified situations under technically complex definitions, limitations, and rules.8)_and_footnotes(n138);.vk n138 These provisions are designed to share responsibility and encourage cooperation among copyright owners and service providers, notably by the use of ''notice and takedown'' procedures.8)_and_footnotes(n139);.vk n139 Only the overall structure, but not the complex detail, of these provisions can be summarized here.8)_and_footnotes(n140);.vk n140
The limitations, outlined below, are only provided to a ''service provider,'' which the Copyright Act, defines generally as ''a provider of online services or network access, or the operator of facilities therefor.''8)_and_footnotes(n141);.vk n141 However, in the first of the four situations set out below, that of the passive-carrier conduit, this definition is restricted to services ''offering the transmission, routing, or providing of connections'' between ''points specified by a user,'' without any ''modification to the content of the material as sent or received.''8)_and_footnotes(n142);.vk n142 So, the somewhat broader safe harbor for a passive-carrier conduit is only applicable to a more narrowly defined service provider.