It is critical that website operators fully understand their rights and responsibilities under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”). This is particularly important for operators of social networking sites, blogs or other sites that allow third parties to publish content on the site. As more and more “traditional” websites now allow such postings -- one of the many aspects of the Web 2.0 age -- the importance of the DMCA grows.
The DMCA is a Federal statute that was enacted in the 1990’s which essentially modified copyright law in order to account for new technology, including the Internet. One aspect of the statute specifically provides for a limited immunity for websites posting content that might arguably infringe another’s copyright rights. Essentially, the law outlines certain protocols for webmasters to utilize, which includes providing an adequate way for those whose work has been infringed upon to contact the website and request the removal of the content. The DMCA generally says that if the website has engaged such protocols, and takes down content that is properly reported to it, it can have immunity from a copyright infringement claim. For this reason, it is critical that all websites who host third party content ensure that they are properly engaging in the protocols provided by the DMCA and include the appropriate instructions in their posted terms and conditions.
A little-known aspect of the DMCA applies to those reporting infringements. While the DMCA protocols allow a person whose rights have been infringed to request that the website remove the protected content, the statute also provides a penalty for a person who wrongfully utilizes this protection. The law provides for liability against the wrongful reporter, including payment of attorney’s fees, which may be payable to (a) the alleged infringer; (b) the website that removed the content; and/or (c) the copyright owner or licensee of the copyright owner. Essentially, the damages might be paid by anyone in one of those three categories who is injured as a result of the false report. Specifically, the DMCA states that: “[a]ny person who knowingly misrepresents under this section – (1) that material or activity is infringing, or (2) that material or activity was removed or disabled by mistake or identification, . . .” is liable under the Act. 17 U.S.C. 512(f). In sum, there are two ways of being liable under this provision: (a) for indicating that a work is infringing if it is not or (b) for indicating that a work which was removed was in fact, not infringing and should have remained posted.
This penalty-based aspect of the statute was recently highlighted in a case currently pending in Illinois relating to the YouTube.com posting of rodeo competitions. In that case, Showing Animals Respect & Kindness v. Prof’l Rodeo Cowboys Association, an animal rights group posted video from a rodeo event on YouTube. The Rodeo Association then contacted YouTube and requested that the videos be removed because they infringed upon the Association’s copyright. SHARK, the animal rights group, filed suit indicating that the Association’s request violated the DMCA because it was based on a false claim. Its argument was that the Association knew that there was no copyright in the rodeo event, and therefore the request that the videos be taken down was not a rightful request to prevent infringement, but rather constituted a wrongful means of trying to remove content that was unfavorable to them. The case is ongoing.
Clearly, those reporting infringements should take caution in doing so. The Rodeo case highlights the importance of being reasonably certain that one has a viable claim for copyright infringement before making a request that a posting be removed under the DMCA.
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