My First DMCA Filing
I'm getting really fed-up with people who infringe on my copyrights by stealing pages from my website. Most infringers don't even bother removing my copyright notification and appear to be happily ignorant of copyright law. Some figure that copying is an easy way to generate traffic for their site, without taking the possible consequences to my site into account. In other cases, the theft (and it really is theft) is a blatant move to profit through Internet advertising.
In the past, I've e-mailed search engine support staff asking for them to remove infringing pages from their directory, sometimes with success, sometimes without. In this instance, when I wrote directly to Google Adsense since an infringing site was also monetizing the theft with ads, the support team responded with a point-by-point list for how to file a DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) complaint with them. I figure since I'm studying for the LSAT I may as well see what it's like to do a little simple lawyering for myself.
What I liked about the Google DMCA filing is they provided a nice boilerplate form, eight easy steps. The first step was to identify the copyrighted work being infringed upon, which was easy since it's a web page on my site with a registered copyright. The second step was to identify the infringing pages and material, which is just a URL and a brief description. Third, I gave my contact info, and fourth, I looked up the infringers contact info on whois.sc
Fifth, they asked for a verbatim reproduction of the statement "I have a good faith belief that use of the copyrighted materials described on the allegedly infringing web pages is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law." This appears to be universal boilerplate for a DMCA complaint. Sixth, the verbatim statement, "I swear, under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notification is accurate and that I am the copyright owner or am authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed." Now we're talking lawyer-like!
Seventh, you sign the complaint (I added a date as well, hope that doesn't invalidate it:-) and last, you mail or fax it in. I'm going with the fax.
In the past, I've e-mailed search engine support staff asking for them to remove infringing pages from their directory, sometimes with success, sometimes without. In this instance, when I wrote directly to Google Adsense since an infringing site was also monetizing the theft with ads, the support team responded with a point-by-point list for how to file a DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) complaint with them. I figure since I'm studying for the LSAT I may as well see what it's like to do a little simple lawyering for myself.
What I liked about the Google DMCA filing is they provided a nice boilerplate form, eight easy steps. The first step was to identify the copyrighted work being infringed upon, which was easy since it's a web page on my site with a registered copyright. The second step was to identify the infringing pages and material, which is just a URL and a brief description. Third, I gave my contact info, and fourth, I looked up the infringers contact info on whois.sc
Fifth, they asked for a verbatim reproduction of the statement "I have a good faith belief that use of the copyrighted materials described on the allegedly infringing web pages is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law." This appears to be universal boilerplate for a DMCA complaint. Sixth, the verbatim statement, "I swear, under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notification is accurate and that I am the copyright owner or am authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed." Now we're talking lawyer-like!
Seventh, you sign the complaint (I added a date as well, hope that doesn't invalidate it:-) and last, you mail or fax it in. I'm going with the fax.
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