Liability of Website Operators Hosting Copyrighted Material
Under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), the operators of internet service providers (ISPs) are generally not liable for copyright infringement from copyrighted material passing through their systems.
There are several requirements for ISPs to have this safe harbor. First, they must not have actual knowledge of the copyrighted material being posted on their servers. Upon obtaining such knowledge, they must take reasonable actions to remove the material from their networks. They must not receive any direct financial benefit from the infringing material. They must not have any control over the content of the material posted on their servers. They must also have an appointed agent to receive notices of infringing material.
When a copyright owner sees his or her material posted on a website, he or she must send a notice (commonly called a “DMCA takedown notice”) to the operator of the website, explaining that the material is infringing before a lawsuit can be filed. The operator of the website should then notify the person who posted the material that it is going to be taken down. The person who posted the material then has the option of sending a counter-notice, to argue that the material does not actually violate copyright laws.
Generally, the operator of a website will not be subject to liability if a takedown notice is received and acted upon.
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Last Modified: 04-14-2009 04:02 PM PDT
