The Digital Millenium Copyright Act
Summary: The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) provides for, among other things, a way for owners of copyrighted material to request that infringing material be removed from a website. Under the “safe harbor” provisions of the DMCA, a website that hosts infringing material won’t be liable for the copyright infringement if the host promptly responds to a takedown notice and removes the infringing content.
Notices under the DMCA, often referred to as “takedown notices” require that the copyrighted work be identified so that the online service provider can locate it; must contain the complaining party’s contact information; a statement that the complaining party believes that the subject material infringes the complainant’s rights; and a statement that the complaining party is giving accurate information and is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the right being infringed. Once the provider receives such a notice, the online service provider loses their “safe harbor” if they do not remove or disable access to the infringing material.
After the material has been taken down, the online service provider must make a reasonable effort to notify the alleged infringer, who then has an opportunity to respond with a counter-notification. If the alleged infringer gives such a notice, then the online service provider must promptly notify the complaining party of this objection to the takedown notice, and the copyright owner has 14 days to file a copyright lawsuit in federal court or the service provider must restore the material that was removed.
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act provides “safe harbor” protections only for violations of copyright law, not for violations of trademark law. This means that there are no protections for online service providers for claims of trademark infringement. For trademark owners, this means that you may have much more luck asserting a claim of trademark infringement and getting infringing material removed, as the online service providers can’t hide behind the DMCA.
Bottom Line: If you believe that online material violates your intellectual property rights, then you can ask that it be removed from the Internet website hosting the content.