Tag Archives: DMCA

Part 3: Companies Are Not Complying With the Safe Harbor Provision of the DMCA

By Craig Cupid on August 22, 2019 Posted in Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)

Protection From Additional Liabilities Once a company is found ineligible for DMCA safe harbor, it is vulnerable to be found liable for copyright infringement claims. Copyright holders may pursue secondary liabilities such as vicarious, contributory or induced infringement. Secondary liabilities are sought when the user who posted the infringing materials is not available or cannot … Continue Reading

Part 2: Companies Are Not Complying With the Safe Harbor Provision of the DMCA

By Craig Cupid on August 15, 2019 Posted in Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)

Compliance With Notice and Takedown Provisions of the DMCA In 17 U.S.C. § 512, subsections (c) and (d), special notice and takedown provisions are outlined for OSPs that host copyrighted materials on their platform or contain links to copyrighted material on their platforms, respectively. If these particular OSPs comply with the notice and takedown provisions, … Continue Reading

Part 1: Companies Are Not Complying With the Safe Harbor Provision of the DMCA

By Craig Cupid on August 8, 2019 Posted in Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)

Introduction The most recent changes to U.S. copyright rules driven by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) became effective on Dec. 1, 2016. However, a considerable time after the effective date, many companies have yet to fully comply with the rules outlined in 37 C.F.R. § 201.38 and 17 U.S.C. § 512. Companies should review … Continue Reading

The Scope of CDA and DMCA Protection for Online Services Continues to Evolve

By Zoe Steinberg and Alan L. Friel on March 13, 2019 Posted in Copyright, Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)

Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA, codified 47 U.S.C. § 230) and the Safe Harbor provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA, codified 17 U.S.C. § 512) provide certain protections for operators of online services from some, but not all, third-party claims arising out of user content posted on those services. These … Continue Reading

UGC Uncertainty Consternation Continues

By Alan L. Friel on September 7, 2017 Posted in Advertising

Amended 9th Circuit Decision Does Not Clarify the Extent to Which Service Providers Can Manually Screen for Inappropriate User Content In April 2017, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals startled online service providers that allow users to post content (known as UGC, or user-generated content), by holding that the use of moderators to screen out … Continue Reading

Renew It or Lose It: New Rules Set for DMCA Safe Harbor Protection

By Craig Cupid on December 1, 2016 Posted in Copyright

Effective December 1, 2016, nearly five years after issuing an initial notice of proposed rules, the U.S. Copyright Office will be implementing new rules intended to govern the designation and maintenance of Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) agent information under a new electronic system. This is a significant action by the Copyright Office, for at … Continue Reading

A New Lenz: Google Weighs In on Fair Use

By Regina Culbert on November 24, 2015 Posted in Uncategorized

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act creates a liability “safe harbor” for online service providers that post content that may be protected by copyright. It facilitates the takedown of an infringing work by providing a relatively simple “notice and takedown” procedure. However, the DMCA has been criticized for making it more difficult for individual creators to … Continue Reading

Fox News LLC v. TVEyes, Inc.—Does the Courts’ Expansion of Fair Use Copyright Protection Promote the “Progress of Science and useful Arts” When It Requires Increasing Judicial Oversight Over Activities That Otherwise Would Be Regulated By the Marketplace?

By Robert Welsh on November 18, 2015 Posted in Copyright, Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), Fair Use

In 2014, when District Court Judge Alvin Hellerstein of the Southern District of New York upheld TVEyes, Inc.’s (“TVEyes”) monitoring service as “fair use” in the face of a copyright infringement claim brought by Fox New Network LLC (“Fox News”),[1] the decision was seen as yet another step in the federal courts’ limitations of the … Continue Reading

Fox News LLC v. TVEyes, Inc.—Does the Courts’ Expansion of Fair Use Copyright Protection Promote the “Progress of Science and useful Arts” When It Requires Increasing Judicial Oversight Over Activities That Otherwise Would Be Regulated By the Marketplace?

By Robert Welsh on November 18, 2015 Posted in Uncategorized

The DMCA Through the ‘Lenz’ of Fair Use: The Ninth Circuit Finds Fair Use Analysis Required Before Sending a DMCA Takedown Notice

By Maryanne Stanganelli on September 15, 2015 Posted in Copyright, Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)

Yesterday the Ninth Circuit issued an opinion in the heavily followed “dancing baby case,” holding that copyright owners must consider an alleged infringer’s defense of fair use before sending a notice under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”). Moreover, a copyright owner that fails to conduct a fair use analysis prior to sending a DMCA … Continue Reading

Potential Bad News for UGC Music Sites: Pre-1972 Tracks May Not Be Covered By the DMCA’s Safe Harbor

By Fernando A. Bohorquez, Jr. on May 6, 2013 Posted in Uncategorized

Co-authored by: Julian Darwall When you think of “Peggy Sue” by Buddy Holly, “Johnny B. Goode” by Chuck Berry, and “My Girl” by the Temptations, you think classic, iconic, rock and roll. Now, in light of the most recent legal setback against music sharing website Grooveshark, these songs may also represent a potentially significant limitation … Continue Reading

Google Responds to Suit by Hendrix Photographer Against It and Mr. Brainwash

By Maryanne Stanganelli on November 5, 2012 Posted in Uncategorized

Last month, Google, Inc. responded to the Third Amended Complaint of Jim Marshall Photography, LLC against Thierry Guetta, Guetta’s affiliated company It’s a Wonderful World, Inc., Google, Inc. and John Doe defendants in the United States District Court for the Central District of California. Google denied the claims of copyright infringement and contributory and vicarious copyright infringement … Continue Reading

Copyright Etiquette

By Lindsey Shoshany on July 9, 2012 Posted in Uncategorized

Pinterest is one of the world’s most visited sites, arising interest in and attracting both individual and business users. As of December 2011, Pinterest entered the top 10 social networks in terms of hitwise data, with 11 million visits per week. Today, it closely rivals both Twitter and Facebook in popularity. Unlike, Twitter and Facebook however, … Continue Reading

Ninth Circuit to Consider the Impact of Viacom

By Oren J. Warshavsky on June 11, 2012 Posted in Uncategorized

The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Court might re-examine the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (the “DMCA”) copyright infringement safe harbor standards. The Ninth Circuit ruled last year in UMG vs. Veoh, a case dealing with user-uploaded music videos, that Veoh, a video-sharing website was protected under the safe harbor provision of the DMCA. Now, … Continue Reading

Viacom v. YouTube: A Question of Fact

By Lindsey Shoshany on April 10, 2012 Posted in Uncategorized

Viacom recently asked a federal court to order YouTube to pay it more than $1 billion in damages for about 150,000 videos that Viacom claims it owns and YouTube users have shared. It accused YouTube of harnessing video-sharing technology permitting users to infringe copyright on a massive scale, harming not only Viacom but also “one … Continue Reading