Business Corner: DMCA Take Down Notice

I own a website, and have set up many. I have never registered with the copyright office. However, none of these sites allowed unrestricted public input such as the forum posts here. Most of them were either unlikely to have content stolen, or lived and died before the DMCA. Also, the sites used original content, with nothing ‘borrowed’.

BTW, I’m not a lawyer and this is not legal advice. The reason I am doing your homework here is that I am considering starting a site that will feature a forum.

This page at the copyright office:
https://www.copyright.gov/dmca-directory/

Explains why you would register as an ‘Agent’ with them:

DMCA Designated Agent Directory
Service Provider Designation of Agent to Receive Notifications of Claimed Infringement

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”) provides safe harbors from copyright infringement liability for online service providers. In order to qualify for safe harbor protection, certain kinds of service providers—for example, those that allow users to post or store material on their systems, and search engines, directories, and other information location tools— must designate an agent to receive notifications of claimed copyright infringement. To designate an agent, a service provider must do two things: (1) make certain contact information for the agent available to the public on its website; and (2) provide the same information to the Copyright Office, which maintains a centralized online directory of designated agent contact information for public use. The service provider must also ensure that this information is up to date.

If you steal someones content and post it on your site, this does not protect you. The owner could demand that you remove the material, then sue for damages. There is the doctrine of fair use though. Under some circumstances you may use another creators content without permission. This explains the very basics of fair use:

https://www.upcounsel.com/fair-use

If someone such as a site visitor posts copyrighted information in your forum you are protected by the ‘safe harbor’ clause. The owner of the material contacts you using the address information on your site, or the copyright agent registry. They send you a notice, and you have some period of time to take down the material. Usually 24 to 48 hours is sited. (So which is it? I don’t know). Of course you can fight it, and have an expensive court battle if you want to.

Being the registered agent means your registration information is available for advertisers and busy bodies to exploit. So, many site owners use commercial agent services for an annual or monthly fee. Some services also provide for sending out the take-down notices when you think your content was stolen. Legal services are extra of course.

Hope this helps!