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DMCA

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Intellectual law has never been this hip to the jive.
Intellectual law has never been this hip to the jive.


The Digital Millennium Copyright Act[1]. Ostensibly it is that part of law that codifies the extension of copyright and other intellectual property laws into the realm of the internet. In reality, however, it's a largely dispensable volume of paper that is more often used as a sledgehammer of harassment than as a sword of justice; bruising all who lay in the path of whomever wields it, mincing truth and accusation into a single, tender mass.

The DMCA is really quite tl;dr. As a result, many people hold a variety of misconceptions about how copyright works on the Internet but -in short- any multimedia download outside iTunes or Amazon makes you an evil, thieving eCriminal.

Contents

Public conceptions about copyright

  • Any created work is protected by copyright.
False. To have a work protected by copyright you must include visible notification to the reader that it is copyrighted. You must also have a disclaimer on the host site that clearly outlines the terms of use.
  • Using copyrighted materials is illegal without express permission of the copyright holder - even under the "Fair Use" doctrine.
True. The copyright holder possesses powers of absolute veto in regard to the use of their copyrighted material.
  • In the case of photographic works, the copyright is traditionally held by the photographer except in the case of pre-arranged contract.
False. The copyright is held by every person in the photo. This is because their appearance is considered a personal creative work, and the photographer is merely recording those works.
  • Modification of commercial works qualifies under the "Fair Use" doctrine due to the commercial owner having already made enough money from it.
True. Small modifications of commercial works that would normally be protected under copyright law are expressly allowed for by the DMCA in cases where the commercial work has already made lots of money. The resulting modified work subsequently has its own copyright to enable it to generate fame and fortune for the creator.

How it works

DMCA Notification

The serving of a DMCA Notification is the first legal step in protecting your user icon from icon theft. A valid DMCA notification requires presentation of the following information:

  • Your 'username', 'handle', or 'screen name' (depending on service)
  • An attached copy of the original work to prove that you own it.
  • A URL to the infringing usage.
  • Your Yahoo! profile.
  • A lengthy essay on how the other person is using the material in bad faith.
  • A statement that you have been emotionally hurt by this usage.

After submitting this information to the site that hosts the copyright infringement, they are forced to take down the copyrighted material until such time as they file a DMCA Counter-Notification.

DMCA Counter-Notification

A Counter-Notification requires the following information and is served back to the person who gave you a Notification:

After the Counter-Notification is filed, the Infringer is free to put back up the copyrighted material until the Notifier pursues the case to court.

Chicken

The Notifier virtually never pursues the case to court because DMCA Notifications are only used as bully tactics by people who can only afford e-lawyers.

Gallery of DMCA'd images

DMCA cops on your ass

DMCA killed all the Jews

DMCA is a shackle on my hard drive

See Also


WTF DMCA is part of a series on acronyms.
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