eBay argued that it was protected under the DMCA, which exempts “qualifying internet service providers” from copyright infringement claims. However, critics of this argument claim that because eBay has a policy in place to monitor the content of its auction sites for infringing material, it has made itself ineligible for protection under the DMCA.
The judge in the case rejected Mr Henrikson’s arguments, and stated that that by acting in a mere conduit capacity, eBay does not operate like conventional auctioneers who vouch for the quality of the items they sell. It does not posses the right or the ability to control the sale of pirated material on its site, therefore it should be protected by the DMCA.
Similar reasoning has previously been applied in US lawsuits which absolved eBay from any liability for fraud on the part of people who use the auction site.