The
Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act (
OCILLA) is
United States federal law that creates a conditional safe harbor for
online service providers (OSP) (a group which includes
internet service providers (ISP)) and other Internet intermediaries by shielding them for their own acts of direct
copyright infringement (when they make unauthorized copies) as well as shielding them from potential secondary liability for the infringing acts of others. OCILLA was passed as a part of the 1998
Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and is sometimes referred to as the "
Safe Harbor" provision or as "DMCA 512" because it added
Section 512]to
Title 17 of the
United States Code. By exempting Internet intermediaries from copyright infringement liability provided they follow certain rules, OCILLA attempts to strike a balance between the competing interests of copyright owners and digital users.