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Copyright Law Has a Mini-Insurance Policy
9/30/15
Following up on last week’s Dancing Baby post, it’s worth exploring the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) a little more. Put code here The DMCA can protect websites from claims of copyright infringement. The DMCA protects four categories of Internet service providers: (1) new media services and websites that host servicers; (2) simple conduits that simply pass data; (3) services that cache information temporarily for users; and (4) information location services like search engines. The protection works like this. A website invites users to post content. The user uploads content that violates a third party’s copyright. The third party notifies the website with a “Take Down Notice”. The website has a reasonable time to remove the offending content. If the website removes the offending content, it’s protected from a copyright infringement law suit. In order to get the advantage of DMCA, the website has to register an agent with the Copyright Office.
TAKE AWAY. If you invite user content like commentary or uploaded videos to your website, you’re going to want to designate an agent with the Copyright Office. You should also have take down instructions in your website’s Terms of Use. These easy steps will help protect your business in the event someone posts infringing content on your website.