To remain eligible for safe harbor under § 512(c), an online service provider (OSP) who allows posting of user-generated content (UGC) must document, implement, and communicate its policy for monitoring, blocking, and removal of infringing content. The OSP also must be prepared to restore removed material correctly in the event that a takedown notice is successfully challenged […]
Widerman Malek Law Blog
DMCA: Notice and Counter-Notice
For websites that allow user generated content (UGC), the online service provider (OSP) and the copyright holder share responsibility for combating infringement. Part of that responsibility includes properly notifying each other with regard to alleged infringement. If a copyright owner or other party complaining of infringement fails to fully comply with the elements of notification […]
DMCA: Notice and Takedown
The Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act (OCILLA), passed in 1998 as Title II of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), preserves strong incentives for service providers and copyright owners to cooperate to detect and deal with copyright infringements that take place in the digital networked environment. The DMCA notification procedures place the burden of […]
DMCA Requirements: Control and Benefit
My last post related how Online Service Providers (OSPs) are subject to disqualification for § 512 safe harbor from copyright infringement liability based on actual or red flag knowledge of user-generated content (UGC) containing infringing material. Another disqualifier for safe harbor is the OSP’s control of and benefit from the infringing act. Control and Benefit […]
DMCA Requirements: Knowledge
As related in my last post, DMCA sections 512(c) and 512(d) have heightened requirements before copyright infringement liability protection adheres to service providers who support user generated content (UGC). The requirements for the four categories of safe harbors under § 512 can be summarized as follows: Safe Harbor Provider Monitoring Red Flag Test Notice/Takedown (a) Conduit ISP […]
User Generated Content: Who’s Safe?
As mentioned in an earlier post, the originators of a web presence are not guaranteed limited liability under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) merely because it is visiting third parties, and not the originators, who introduce infringing content onto an originator’s site. Rather, the DMCA offers safe harbor only to qualifying service providers. Safe Harbor: Eligibility […]
User Generated Content: Safe Harbor?
In an earlier post, I discussed copyright infringement risks inherent to web sites that facilitate exchange of user-generated content (UGC). As the Internet’s popularity took off in the 1990s, governments of the world recognized the need to reconcile traditional copyright laws with the unique challenges of the information age, including UGC. In 1998, the Digital Millennium Copyright […]
User Generated Content: Infringing?
From content sharing to crowdsourcing, web sites that facilitate exchange of user-generated content (UGC) are key components in what makes the web … the web! But of concern for website providers, promotions operators, sponsors, and others that permit third parties to post UGC is the possibility that the user will infringe third-party intellectual property or personal rights.
