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LEGISLATION
Guatemalan Civil Code, Decree No.106, July, 1964 (Article 1645) [Guatemala does not have any specific legislation regarding Internet Service Providers’ (ISP) liability. However, Guatemalan legislation regarding civil obligation establishes that any harm or damage caused by any person, must be compensated/repaired. Article 1645 of the Guatemalan Civil Code is used as reference for court cases and decisions: “Any person, who causes any damage or prejudice to another person, either intentionally, or by carelessness or negligence, is required to repair it, unless the damage or prejudice are caused by inexcusable negligence, or guilt of the victim, and is so proven.” Since there is no specific legislation regarding damages caused by Internet Service Providers, this article is the main legal source governing intermediary liability in Guatemala. If a user, or an owner of a domain warns the Internet Service Provider that there is a copyright infringement, the ISP must take down the allegedly infringing information. If the ISP does not act upon an infringement complaint, they might be responsible for the negligence or carelessness and they are accountable for reliance interest and expectation interest (damages).] Copyright Law, Decree No. 33-89, May 2003 [Copyright law would be the legal basis for decisions regarding any case of Internet Service Providers’ (ISP) liability in Guatemala involving infringinment of moral or economic rights belonging to an author. In case of infringement, the rightholder may certainly hold liable the direct infringer uploading the protected materials, but it might also, according to Article 1645 of the Civil Code, establish judicial proceedings against the ISPs if the author can prove negligence or carelessness from their part.]
BILLS AND PENDING PROPOSALS[There are currently no known new legislative proposals on the issue of intermediary liability.]
DECISIONS[There are currently no known cases that have been brought before the courts on the issue of intermediary liability.]
CONTRIBUTORSSandra IriartePalomos & Porra AbogadosEmail: sandra at palomoyporras.com
FEEDBACK
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