If You Provide a DMCA Takedown Notice, Provide It Properly
In Terms of Use and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) I described the six elements that a copyright owner must include in a “takedown notice” sent to a service provider that is hosting infringing content. Perfect 10 v. Google shows that a notice will not be effective if it lacks the required information.
Perfect 10, which creates and sells photos of nude models, brought suit against Google, alleging, among other things, copyright infringement based on caching and hosting of photos.
Perfect 10 had sent numerous takedown notices to Google. Google won a partial summary judgment because, as a matter of law, many of the notices were deficient. Specifically, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California held that notices were deficient because:
- E-mail notices were sent to Google’s webmaster rather than the designated agent specified on Google’s website.
- Copyrighted works that allegedly were infringed were not identified. Instead, for example, Perfect 10 sent cover letters, spreadsheets, and hard drives or DVDs, and expected Google to rummage through the electronic media to locate infringing files.
Perfect 10′s deficient notices are inexcusable. You don’t have to be a genius to send a perfect takedown notice – you just have to follow the rules.
Follow-up: The District Court’s decision was affirmed (though on grounds unrelated to the DMCA) by the U.S Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Perfect 10 v. Google.
Check out all posts about DMCA takedown notices.
Dana H. Shultz, Attorney at Law +1 510 547-0545 dana [at] danashultz [dot] com
This blog does not provide legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. If you need legal advice, please contact a lawyer directly.
Dana Shultz is a business-savvy lawyer located in Northern California's San Francisco Bay Area (in the East Bay, near Oakland) who has in-depth knowledge of law, business, technology, and the needs of startup and early-stage companies.