The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which passed in 1998, is a copyright law which gives a safe harbour to ISPs, such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, whose content is supplied by third parties, and mandates that ISPs take action when the creator of the content (the copyright owner) contacts them and asks that their content be removed.

Example: You are a photographer and actively submit your photos to your Instagram account. You discover that one of your images is available for licensing at Adobe Stock. Since you are not a contributor at Adobe Stock, you scratch your head and wonder how it got there. Further investigation reveals that another person has submitted many images from your Instagram account and is illegally licensing them through Adobe Stock. The DMCA protects Adobe Stock (since they are not the ones who stole your content) and allows you to inform them of the infringement and have the content removed.

In order to have this content removed, you need to submit a DMCA Notice of Infringement to the ISP, in this example, Adobe Stock.

Every ISP has its own policy regarding how to submit a DMCA Notice. Some require you to fill out a form, such as Twitter; others request that you email their compliance department, such as Shutterstock.

Elements of a DMCA Notice

The elements of a DMCA Notice include:

• A physical or electronic signature of the person, or authorised representative, of the copyrighted work
• Identification of the original material that is being infringed upon (the original work)
• Identification of the infringing material (the stollen work)
• A statement of good faith that all of the information is true and accurate and that you are indeed the copyright holder
• Your contact information and signature

DMCA Notice of Copyright Infringement Example

To Copyright Agent,

My name is [your name],

Your website or a website that your company hosts is infringing on copyright-protected works owned by myself. The original works, to which I own the exclusive copyrights, are located at:

[link(s) to your original work(s)]

The unauthorized and infringing copies are located at:

[link(s) to the infringing work(s)]

I have good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.

I understand that under 17 U.S.C. § 512(f), I may be liable for any damages, including costs and attorneys’ fees, if I knowingly materially misrepresent that reported material or activity is infringing.

The information in this notification is accurate, and I state under penalty of perjury that I am authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner.

Kind Regards,

[Your Full Name]
[Your Full Physical Address, including city and country]
[Your Phone Number, including country code]
[Email]

Illustration by kozhedub_nc/Shutterstock