What is a DMCA Takedown Notice?

A takedown notice is a formal legal document that outlines the copyright owner's request for the removal of material from a site, including any links to the same. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) was enacted in 1998 as an attempt to make it easier to enforce the online copyright system.

First, it creates a notice-and-take-down procedure in which the copyright owner must send a notice to the site owner (usually a site with more than fifty million visits per year) stating that a copyrighted work has been removed from their site without permission and directing them to the site's home page to seek further information on the takedown. If the website owner fails to provide the proper notification, the notice is considered a takedown notice and the owner's site will be taken down immediately. While the notice-and-take-down procedure can be time consuming and can potentially cause unnecessary stress, the takedown notice provides the owner of the material a simple method of obtaining monetary damages from the site.

The takedown notice also allows for the owner of the copyrighted material to request for the original copy to be restored to their site; this can only be done if the original copyright owner agrees and requests for the copy to be restored to their site. This allows for the copyright owner to make sure their copyright is protected.Click here for more details about DMCA Takedown Notice

The copyright owner who receives a takedown notice is allowed to either send a counter-notice to the site owner, or request for another takedown of the material, in order to have the material reinstated. If the original owner cannot be found, the website owner has the option to ask the Copyright Office for a waiver to remove the original owner's name from all copies of the material.

Depending on how the copyright owner's request is worded, the first request may not necessarily be the best option. The second request can be used if the first request does not go well; this type of request can be more extensive in that it includes additional details.

A takedown notice may be used to address issues relating to original owner removals, such as if the original owner used someone else's name and image without the permission of the copyright owner. The original owner may be able to obtain monetary damages, but this varies by state and can take a longer period of time; the original owner can also request for an injunction against the website from the state's court system if the process is unsuccessful.