Peru amends its copyright law to introduce safe harbours for digital service providers.

Carlos Casado

IP advisor at Latin America IP SME Helpdesk

Introduction

In February 2026, Peru enacted Legislative Decree No. 1724, amending the Copyright Law (Legislative Decree No. 822) to introduce a liability exemption regime (safe harbours) for internet and digital service providers. The amendment clarifies the circumstances in which these intermediaries will not be held responsible for infringements committed by users, as long as they fulfil certain conditions and act promptly upon infringement notices, while avoiding the imposition of a general duty to monitor.

A safe harbor is a legal provision in a statute or regulation that provides protection from a legal liability or other penalty when certain conditions are met.

Key points of the reform:

Those who can benefit:

• Internet access providers (transmission/routing and intermediate, transient storage)
• Digital service providers offering caching, hosting, search engines, directories, links, and hyperlinks.

Typical conditions for exemption:

• Do not modify the content (except for necessary technical operations).
• Do not initiate transmission or select content or recipients.
• Respect technological and rights-management protection measures under the terms set out in the law.
• Implement repeat infringer policies (reflected in contracts/terms and conditions).

Notice-and-takedown procedure:

• Right holders may request the removal of content or the disabling of access by providing an effective notice including identification details, a description of the affected works and their location (URL), and a signed good-faith statement.
• The provider must verify the requirements and remove or disable access within the prescribed deadlines. However, users may submit a counter-notice and content may be restored if no formal proceedings are initiated.

Monitoring and sanctions:

• There is no general monitoring obligation, but the competent authority may order specific measures for a limited period.
• Sanctions apply to notices or counter-notices that contain false information or are submitted in bad faith.

Authority and measures:

• The administrative authority is the Copyright Directorate of the National Institute for the Defence of Competition and the Protection of Intellectual Property (INDECOPI).
• Even where an exemption applies, the authority may order measures such as blocking access or removing/disabling content in digital services, based on effectiveness and proportionality.

For a European SME providing digital services in Peru, there are two practical effects: greater legal certainty if these processes and policies are implemented correctly, and the need to update terms and conditions, contact channels, internal takedown/counter-notice workflows, and repeat-infringer policies within the 90-day implementation period.

Recent IP milestones in Peru

July 2024

Peru becomes party to the Vienna Agreement.

June 2024

Peru joins WIPO’s Treaty on Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge.

October 2022

Joins the Nice Agreement.

October 2022

Joins the Locarno Agreement.

To check all the information we have regarding IP in Peru: https://intellectual-property-helpdesk.ec.europa.eu/regional-helpdesks/latin-america-ip-sme-helpdesk/country-materials/peru-ip-materials_en 

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The Latin America IP SME Helpdesk is a valuable resource for small and medium-sized enterprises seeking guidance on intellectual property rights in Latin America. The Helpdesk provides expertise on a range of IP issues to protect and enforce intellectual property (IP) rights in or relating to Latin American countries, offering practical advice to help businesses protect their innovations and creations in the region, also in the green technology sector. Overall, the Latin America IP SME Helpdesk plays a crucial role in supporting SMEs in navigating the complex green industry and its IP protection in Latin America. 

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