Dec 15, 2024
What Is a DMCA Strike & How to Respond and Stay Protected
Imagine building a brand for something important to you and your customers. You invest time and energy in developing your products and services, crafting your messaging, and creating a positive online reputation. Then, one day, you discover a copycat website that’s damaging your hard-earned reputation and stealing your customers. You know the DMCA can help you fight this illegal activity, brand protection strategies, but you’ve heard horror stories about DMCA strikes and how they can ruin businesses. You're not alone if you’ve found yourself in a similar situation. Disreputable businesses often target small- to mid-sized companies because they lack the resources to fight back. The good news is that there are effective ways to combat website fraud.
We’ll discuss how to implement DMARC to help protect your email domain from phishing scams and spoofing attacks. We’ll also explain how Bustem’s copycat detection tool can help you identify fraudulent websites and get them taken down quickly.
Table of Content
What is a DMCA Strike?
As you create and publish content on the web, one of the biggest challenges is ensuring everything you make is original. Using an image or text without proper permission can result in a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) takedown notice. If someone uses your content without your consent, you can issue a DMCA takedown to protect my property.
What is the DMCA?
The DMCA is short for the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. On Oct 12, 1998, the US Congress passed the DMCA to amend U.S. copyright law. The goal was to address critical issues related to copyright and the internet. President Clinton signed it into law on Oct 28, 1998.
What Exactly Does It Mean?
The term “DMCA” doesn't mean much to many readers. Even if you read the full name, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, it doesn't give much more information. To understand the DMCA, it's perhaps easier to imagine a scenario where there wasn't DMCA:
Legal Risks of User-Generated Content
Let's say you created an online service that allows users to publish up to 140 characters of content they wrote or a service where users upload video clips they created. Does this sound familiar? Your service became popular, and many users decided to publish content on your platform.
One day, a user copy-pasted some copyrighted work and published it on your platform under his name. If the owner of that copyrighted work sues you, you are done. It's not easy for the owner to find the user who posted that content, but it's easy to find you since you are the service provider, not a random person around the globe.
The Chilling Effect on Service Providers
It's easier to just sue you instead since you are the provider and should be responsible for your users. Although it's not precisely YOU who published that copyrighted work, your platform stores and serves it. You can't argue with that. You won't get out of it easily.
You know, one single copyright infringement can cost you up to $150,000. If there are hundreds or even thousands of infringements, you are doomed. You'd close down in a blink of an eye. Since the possibility of being held liable for user-generated content could harm service providers, who dare to provide those services?
A Story of the LLC
Consider the limited liability company (LLC) if the scenario above doesn't resonate. In the case of limited liability companies, the liability of members to contribute to the company's debts is limited to the amount of their investment in the company and does not extend to personal assets. Before LLC, if you were a car company and your customers had accidents and sued you, you'd be held with unlimited liabilities.
If your company couldn't pay the penalties, you must. Your company and you would be in an irrelevant place in the car market from which you'd never return. Had it not been for the LLC, nobody would have created companies to make cars. The invention of the LLC has greatly encouraged people to innovate, create, and build. It has boomed the development of business and even the history of humankind. What if there is a similar way to encourage online business providers by limiting their liabilities and protecting their interests?
How DMCA Works
The DMCA provides a “safe harbor” for service providers that host user-generated content. How did it achieve this? Notice and Takedown The DMCA has a “notice-and-takedown” rule:
As an online service provider of user-generated content, you have to provide a mechanism/system to allow copyright owners to notify you about your users' infringing material so that actions can be taken to take down those infringing materials.
There should be two simple, straightforward procedures that all users should know about:
A takedown notice procedure for copyright holders to request that content be removed
A counter-notice procedure for users to get content re-enabled when content is taken down by mistake or misidentification.
As the service provider, you are protected if you play with the DMCA's notice-and-takedown rule. You won't be liable for copyright infringement based on user-generated content.
This is exactly the principal innovation of the DMCA in the copyright field. Like the invention of the limited liability company, the DMCA encourages you to innovate and create services and platforms to host user-generated content as long as you play with the rules. The DMCA framework is like passing notes in class. The copyright owner hands the service provider a complaint about a user. The service provider will pass the complaint along to the user if it's written correctly. If the user disputes the complaint, they can return a note saying so.
DRM/TPM Circumvention
The DMCA criminalizes the production and dissemination of technology, devices, or services intended to circumvent measures that control access to copyrighted works, commonly known as Digital Rights Management (DRM).
The DMCA also prohibits circumventing technological protection measures (TPMs) used by copyright owners to control access to their works. For example, bypassing a password system to prevent unauthorized access to a streaming service is unlawful.
A Case Study: the Youtube-dl DMCA Takedown
YouTube-dl is a free and open-source download manager for video and audio from YouTube and over 1,000 other video hosting websites. On October 23, 2020, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) issued a takedown notice to GitHub under the DMCA, requesting the removal of YouTube-dl and 17 public forks of the project.
The RIAA request argued that `youtube-dl` violates the Section 1201 anti-circumvention provisions of the DMCA and provisions of German copyright law since it circumvents a “rolling cipher” used by YouTube to generate the URL for the video file itself (which the RIAA has considered to be an effective technical protection measure, since it is “intended to inhibit direct access to the underlying YouTube video files, thereby preventing or inhibiting the downloading, copying, or distribution of the video files”) and that its documentation expressly encouraged its use with copyrighted media by listing music videos by RIAA-represented artists as examples.
The Controversy Surrounding GitHub’s Youtube-dl Takedown
GitHub initially complied with the request. Many users criticized the takedown, noting the legitimate uses for the application, including downloading video content released under open licensing schemes or creating derivative works falling under fair use (such as for archival and news reporting purposes).
Some users reposted the software's source code across the internet in multiple formats. For one interesting example, users posted images on Twitter containing the whole `youtube-dl` source code encoded in different colors on each pixel.
What Does DMCA Protected Mean?
You might see the term or phrase “DMCA protected” in the footer of some websites or even on a badge. However, this is slightly redundant since the DMCA already protects any published work in the United States.
If you see a badge like this one below, the website might use a service like DMCA.com, which provides copyright protection services. In other words, the website owner is paying DMCA.com to handle the takedown notices for them.
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How to Issue a DMCA Takedown Notice (Or Handle Your Own)
A DMCA takedown notice is a request to remove copyrighted content from the internet. The process is overseen by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, established in 1998, to protect copyright owners from unauthorized online use of their content.
When someone files a DMCA takedown notice against your website, it can feel scary and stressful. Ignored DMCA notices can lead to legal trouble and even removal of your website from search engines. However, understanding how to handle a DMCA takedown notice can help you get through the ordeal quickly and efficiently.
How Do You Handle a DMCA Takedown Notice Against You?
The first thing you should know is how to deal with a DMCA takedown notice when it is filed against you. When your ISP or web hosting provider receives a DMCA complaint they will demand the removal of the content immediately or do it for you. And by this, it sometimes means they even shut off your hosting.
Responding to DMCA Takedown Notices
Don’t ignore emails about DMCA takedown notices. Your provider might not necessarily even check into whether or not your content is infringing. Depending on their location, they might be legally obligated to take this content down and will do so quickly and efficiently. If you believe that you received a complaint in error or own the content, you can submit a DMCA counter-notice.
Under section 512(f) of the DMCA, any person who knowingly materially misrepresents that material or activity was removed or disabled by mistake or misidentification may be subject to liability. Be very careful when you file a DMCA counter-notice. If you are unsure whether you own the content, you should probably seek legal advice.
Your counter-notice needs to contain the following information:
Physical or electronic signature name, address, and phone number
Identification of the material and its location before it was removed (URL)
A statement that the material was removed by mistake or misidentification (remember you are liable)
Consent to the jurisdiction of a federal court in the district where you live or where your service provider is located
Consent to accept service of process from the party who submitted the takedown notice.
How Do You Issue a DMCA Takedown Notice?
The other side of the DMCA process is when someone else steals your content. Here are the steps you can follow to ensure it is taken down.
Try Reaching Out to the Website Owner First
Before drafting an official DMCA complaint, emailing the website owner directly can sometimes be quicker. You can check to see if they list their email anywhere online or if they have a contact form on their website. After getting an email like this, some will remove the content immediately. Here is a template we use.
Feel free to copy and modify it:
Hello, I work for [COMPANY], and we discovered that your website (https://domain.com) uses our content. Here are some examples of our content: https://yourdomain.com/~ [EXACT CONTENT/IMAGE LOCATION] https://yourdomain.com/~ And here are copies on your site: https://domain.com/~ [EXACT CONTENT/IMAGE LOCATION] https://domain.com/~
Please remove all copyrighted content belonging to [COMPANY] immediately otherwise we’ll have to proceed with filing a DMCA complaint. I have created a case ID #xxxx to track this issue until it is resolved. If you have any questions regarding this, let me know. Thanks. Because people are busy and sometimes miss emails, you might want to try sending an email more than once. Here you can find a few solid tips on how to find anyone’s email address. If they don’t respond then you can proceed with the steps below.
Find The Person
The very first thing you have to do is find the person’s web host so that you know where to file the DMCA complaint. An easy way to do this is to look up the IP address of the website. You can ping it or use a free online tool like Domain Tools. You can then take the IP address and look it up using the ARIN Whois Service. They have a good database of records and comments about which companies own IPs. Once we looked up the IP address, it immediately showed us that it is on a netblock used by Google Cloud customers and the email address and web page for abuse complaints.
DMCA also offers a great free Whois lookup that generates network information. However, you are limited to five free lookups per month. If the above doesn’t yield good results, you can try the free Who is Hosting This tool from HostAdvice.
Note: If they are running behind a CDN or proxy such as Cloudflare, it is much harder, as they will show as the IP address owner. In that scenario, you might have more luck contacting the individual site owner first (if you haven’t already). However, Cloudflare does have a DMCA complaint form.
Where to Submit the DMCA Takedown Complaint
You must submit the complaint now that you know where the person’s content is hosted. Most providers have easy ways to access their content. Look on their contact pages or in the footer for anything that says “complaints” or “abuse.”
Contact a DMCA agent directly if you can’t find an online form. This is usually a long, drawn-out process. Contacting the web host or ISP provider directly is usually the fastest way. You can also pay a professional team to handle the DMCA takedown.
What to Include in the DMCA Takedown Complaint
You must include the following information to ensure your takedown complaint is handled properly. Physical or electronic signature The location and identification of the material you claim is infringing (this could be URLs, etc.) Your:
contact information
Address
Phone number
Mailing address
Statement of good faith that the copyright owner or you do not authorize using the material. A statement that everything is accurate (again, remember you are liable under penalty of perjury)
DMCA Takedown Template
Here is a DMCA takedown template that we use.
Feel free to copy and modify it:
Subject Line: Takedown Notice Under the Digital Millenium Copyright Act of 1998
My name is [NAME] and I’m the [POSITION] at [COMPANY]. This is a notice following Section 512 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (”DMCA”) requesting that you immediately cease to provide access to the following copyrighted material. A website that your company hosts (according to WHOIS information) infringes on copyrighted material our company owns.
The original [CONTENT/IMAGES], of which we own the exclusive copyrights, can be found at these URLs: — [EXACT CONTENT/IMAGE LOCATION] — — The unauthorized and infringing [CONTENT/IMAGES] can be found at this IP address/URLs: IP address: — [EXACT CONTENT/IMAGE LOCATION] — —
My contact information is: Name Company Address Phone
I have good faith belief that the use of the described material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or by operation of law. The information in this notice is accurate, up to date, and I can confirm that [COMPANY] is the copyright owner.
Should you wish to discuss this further, please contact me directly.
Signed:
Name Date:
Getting the Content Removed from Search Engines
If the original content is taken down, it will automatically be removed from the search engines. However, if the above process fails, you can also submit a complaint directly with Google and Bing. While this won’t always get it removed from the person’s site, it will at least remove it from SERPs so that nobody can find it. It will also ensure that it never ranks over your content.
Once the owner or the DMCA removes the content from the site, it will usually no longer be visible on search engines. However, if the stolen content remains on search engines, you can file a complaint directly with Bing or Google. This may not always remove the content from the other person’s site, but it will remove it from search results so nobody can find it. It will also ensure that duplicate content never ranks over the original.
Wait for The Notice to Go Into Effect
Sending a DMCA takedown notice will take around 72 hours. However, the time can vary depending on factors such as how fast the company can process DMCA requests and the location of the content. The DMCA only applies to copyrighted material in the United States. Therefore, if you email a company outside the United States, they do not have to comply and may take longer to respond.
How Long Does a DMCA Notice Take?
Generally, a DMCA takedown notice will take around 72 hours. However, we’ve seen them go quickly (within 24 hours) and drag on for 6+ months. This depends on a couple of things:
How fast does the company process the DMCA requests?
The location of the content.
Remember, DMCA is only applicable to copyrighted material in the United States. You might never hear back if you email a company outside the United States. Although most hosting providers, regardless of location, will try to help.
When will a content-hosting platform issue a DMCA strike?
The purpose of DMCA strikes is to enable content-hosting platforms to live up to their responsibilities under the DMCA and show they are not being negligent about their duties. Generally, a platform will issue a DMCA strike when, in their opinion, a DMCA takedown notice has been validly filed by a copyright holder.
Here’s how DMCA strikes work:
Most content-hosting platforms require their users to comply with the platform's rules. This includes respecting the copyright laws, especially concerning the publication, access, and distribution of protected content. These platforms usually have policies that state clearly what can lead to a DMCA strike, when a strike will be issued, and how many strikes you get before being kicked off the platform permanently.
Most platforms give users up to three strikes before banning the user altogether. But the good news is you will generally have an opportunity to respond to each takedown notice to justify your use of the copyrighted material before making a decision.
To ensure that they accurately identify and remove copyrighted content, many platforms rely on digital tools to assess takedown notices and check whether copyright was truly infringed. If their findings return positive, they’ll issue a strike, and depending on how many you’ve racked up already, you may be banned completely.
It truly is as scary as it sounds. That’s why if you are certain that you never infringed on copyrighted content, despite what a takedown notice says, you should fight the notice (or strike) if you want to stay on the platform.
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How Content Platforms Manage DMCA Compliance
Twitch has faced a lot of controversy recently regarding its DMCA compliance process. The platform was the subject of thousands of RIAA complaints that made a mess of its internal process, and that’s putting it mildly. In any case, Twitch explains that its policy is to clear DMCA takedown notices that fully comply with the DMCA. This includes unilaterally terminating the accounts of those determined to be repeat infringers and pursuing liability action against people who send false or malicious notices.
Here’s what the process looks like:
Twitch’s process begins with the reception of a written DMCA notice by a copyright holder.
The notice must fully comply with the requirements listed above.
The alleged infringer may reply with a counternotification stating that the flagged content was removed due to a mistake, misidentification, or other legal defense.
A copyright holder may retract their DMCA notice, either in response to the counter-notification or on their own
Although it’s not expressly stated in the policy, Twitch typically issues informal strikes for each established offense. But there’s no indication as to how many strikes may lie. This means a creator may be permanently banned after just their second offense.
DMCA Strikes on Facebook: What You Need to Know
Facebook dedicates an extensive resource to help users understand how copyright laws work, and how the platform enforces these laws.
Here’s what you can expect from the process: A copyright holder may file a “copyright claim” indicating what content infringed on their copyright and who the alleged infringer is.
Facebook warns that they will provide all the information an owner submits to the alleged infringer.
Facebook will investigate the report and remove any infringing content indicated in it. The alleged infringer may submit a counter-notification “if the content was removed under the notice and counter-notice procedures of the DMCA.”
The copyright owner may withdraw the notice instead.
Repeat infringers may have their account disabled or their page or group removed. They may also limit the alleged infringer’s ability to post or interact with their account.
What Happens When You Get a DMCA Strike on Twitter
Twitter allows aggrieved copyright holders file a “copyright complaint” when they believe their protected works have been illegally accessed, distributed, or published. The process involves submitting a copyright claim to Twitter.
Although Twitter advises owners that they may explore sending the alleged infringer a Direct Message to try and resolve the issue first, since false takedown notices may attract liability under the DMCA, Twitter will generally notify the alleged infringer of the complaint and will forward a full copy of notice to them, while also informing them of their right to file a “counter-notice” Twitter will either remove the offending content or limit engagement with the tweet by “withholding” it Accounts that receive multiple copyright complaints may be locked or suspended by Twitter. There is no indication of how many complaints will lead to suspension or permanent removal.
DMCA Strikes on YouTube: What You Need to Know
YouTube has the clearest copyright complaints process. The platform also implements copyright management tools such as Content ID matching technology and the Copyright Match Tool. This makes YouTube’s process a bit more fact-oriented than the others. The process starts when a copyright holder submits a DMCA notice.
They can do this by completing YouTube’s DMCA web form, using the Copyright Match Tool, or activating Content ID. However, only the webform is available to all users. The owner must display a history of successful DMCA takedowns using the web form to use more advanced tools.
Understanding YouTube's Copyright Enforcement and Content ID Options
Owners have a variety of options when it comes to what action they want YouTube to take. This is especially the case when using advanced tools. Possible actions range from removing the offending content, archiving the match so they can take action later, blocking a video from being viewed, or even monetizing the video by running ads against it.
When a complaint is submitted through the web form, YouTube takes down the video and applies a copyright strike. Any user that gets three copyright strikes within 90 days will have their account terminated. However, alleged infringers are also given tools to respond, including submitting a counter-notification, requesting a retraction, or waiting for the strike to expire after 90 days. With Content ID, no copyright strike will be issued. The owner will only get access to the other reliefs identified above.
Responding to DMCA Strikes
A prompt and strategic response is imperative when confronted with a DMCA strike. One
avenue involves expeditiously removing the disputed content or limiting access to it. However, if one believes their use of the material falls under “fair use,” they can challenge the strike.
The symbiotic relationship between fair use and DMCA is pivotal, as fair use provides certain exceptions to copyright infringement claims. A nuanced understanding of the Fair Use doctrine and the intricate DMCA removal process empowers individuals to navigate such scenarios deftly.
Safeguarding Copyright Online
Prevention often surpasses the need for remedy, a principle that resonates with copyright protection. Therefore, it is paramount to take proactive measures to secure the requisite permissions before utilizing others' work.
This proactive stance precludes potential DMCA strikes while upholding the integrity of one's digital content. A comprehensive grasp of copyright claims and DMCA procedures empowers individuals to leave a respectful and ethically sound digital footprint.
Counteracting the Strike
In an unjust DMCA strike, the recipient can retaliate with a counternotification. A counternotification serves as a formal declaration asserting that the use of copyrighted material is authorized or shielded by the law. This avenue is significant in preserving one's rights and ensuring continuous accessibility to content.
A Harmonious Blend of Copyright and DMCA
By acquainting oneself with the DMCA notice procedure, responding adeptly to strikes, and adhering to copyright laws, individuals carve a digital presence that aligns with legal requirements and respects the foundational tenets of intellectual property.
The convergence of copyright law and the DMCA creates an ecosystem that nurtures innovation while preserving the rights of content creators. By embracing these principles, a collective symphony resonates across the digital universe, fostering creativity, respect, and equitable usage.
Find and Take Down Copycats with One-click Today
Copycats can be a major nuisance for e-commerce merchants. Bustem efficiently identifies and eliminates these problems. Our powerful copycat detection and removal tool scans billions of websites to find unauthorized uses of your store’s content.
Whether dealing with competitors using your product images, stealing your ad copy, or duplicating your blog content, Bustem helps you identify and eliminate copycats efficiently to protect your brand reputation.
How Does Bustem Work?
Bustem automatically scans for copycats 24/7, providing instant detection and bulk takedown capabilities to protect your e-commerce store. We identify the unauthorized use of your store’s:
Images
Videos
Text
Headlines
And more
Before streamlining the takedown process to help you eliminate these threats quickly, we provide pre-filled DMCA strike templates to simplify the process, even if you’re simultaneously dealing with dozens of copycats.
Why Are DMCA Strikes Important?
DMCA strikes help e-commerce merchants protect their brand identity and reputation. Copycats can negatively impact your sales, SEO, and customer trust. DMCA takedowns help you eliminate these threats and get back to business quickly.
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