While you may understand the fundamentals of copyright law, things have changed drastically over the past few decades thanks to the technological boom of the late 1990s and early 2000s. As such, creators required additional protections, and the DMCA was created to offer expanded laws to help creators. Keep reading to learn more about the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and how the guidelines can protect your work from those infringing on your content. You’ll also discover how copyright infringement lawyers can help you receive justice for the work that’s been stolen from you.
DMCA: What Does It Protect?
The DMCA was created in 1998 in response to the technology boom, including the internet and other modern information systems. This act protects creators by criminalizing the production of machines and technology used to circumvent digital rights management in order to evade access control technology. For example, the popular streaming service Netflix has access technology in place that makes it impossible for devices to screen record their television shows and movies in an effort to prevent illegal uploads of this content on other websites. Creating technology to avoid this anti-piracy measure is unlawful under the DMCA.
Another measure of this act is that creators receive increased protection by allowing owners to create takedown notices. These give copyright owners the right to inform web hosting platforms of their ownership, granting them the right to remove their infringed work. For example, if you Googled a movie, you may notice that there is text saying they have removed a search result from a page under the DMCA in response to a complaint while linking to the objection that leads to the removal. This gives owners increased protection to prevent their work from being disseminated across the internet.
Those found in violation of the DMCA can face civil and criminal charges. What seems as innocent as downloading a song through an unauthorized service can lead to jail time and fines.
How Do I Get My Copyrighted Content Removed?
There are steps you must take in order to get your copyrighted content removed from unauthorized websites. The first thing you need to do is reach out to the author of the content and ask them to take down your material. If this does not work, you can contact the website host service and ask them to remove the content.
If those options do not pan out, you can file a DMCA takedown notice. Some websites, like Youtube, have their own templates you can fill out to request the removal of your copyrighted work.
When you follow these steps, and your content is still up on websites, you shouldn’t have to accept it as an unfortunate flaw of the internet. At Copycat Legal, we understand how hard you’ve worked to create your copyrighted work. Our dedicated legal team will do everything in our power to help get your material removed from unauthorized locations so you can receive fair compensation. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you.