Content Removal Policies Guide To Submitting A DMCA Takedown Notice (GitHub)
OpenLegalLibrary
This document serves as a comprehensive guide for submitting a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) Takedown Notice, particularly for content involving software code. It details the specific information required for a valid notice, emphasizes legal obligations like swearing under penalty of perjury, and advises on investigating claims thoroughly. The guide also addresses unique considerations for code-related copyright infringement and the process for submitting a complaint to the hosting platform. It is not legal advice and encourages consultation with a legal professional before taking action, especially given the complexities of copyright law and code-based content. The guide also mentions the possibility of counter notices and the publication of takedown complaints after redaction of personal information. It also provides guidance on complaints about anti-circumvention technology, which is a specific type of copyright violation. Finally, it outlines the various methods for submitting a complaint, including an online form, email, or physical mail, with a preference for electronic submissions for faster processing. The guide is designed to make the process of submitting alleged infringement notices as straightforward as possible, while also ensuring that the notices meet the minimum requirements of the DMCA. It also highlights the importance of being specific in identifying the copyrighted work and the infringing material, as well as explaining how the affected user can remedy the infringement. The guide also mentions that the hosting company will not automatically disable forks when disabling a parent repository, and that each allegedly infringing fork must be explicitly identified. It also provides guidance on how to handle large networks of repositories that are alleged to be infringing. The guide also emphasizes that the hosting company is not the judge, and that it is up to the parties to evaluate the merit of their claims. The guide also mentions that facts, words, short phrases, URLs, and domain names are generally not copyrightable, and that users should speak with a lawyer if they have questions about whether or not their content is protectable. The guide also mentions that users may receive a counter notice, and that the hosting company will re-enable their content within 10-14 days unless the copyright owner notifies them that they have initiated a legal action seeking to restrain the user from engaging in infringing activity. The guide also mentions that the complaint will be published after redacting personal information. The guide also mentions that the hosting company exercises little discretion in the process other than determining whether the notices meet the minimum requirements of the DMCA. The guide also mentions that it is a federal crime to intentionally lie in a sworn declaration, and that submitting false information could also result in civil liability. The guide also mentions that the DMCA itself provides for damages against any person who knowingly materially misrepresents that material or activity is infringing. The guide also mentions that users should conduct a thorough investigation and consult with an attorney before submitting a takedown to make sure that the use isn't actually permissible. The guide also mentions that a great first step before sending a takedown notice is to try contacting the user directly. The guide also mentions that the hosting company can only accept DMCA takedown notices for works that are protected by copyright, and that identify a specific copyrightable work. The guide also mentions that if users have a complaint about trademark abuse, they should see the trademark policy. The guide also mentions that if users wish to remove sensitive data such as passwords, they should see the policy on sensitive data. The guide also mentions that if users are dealing with defamation or other abusive behavior, they should see the Community Guidelines. The guide also mentions that code is different from other creative content, and that this makes identifying a valid copyright infringement more complicated than it might otherwise be for, say, photos, music, or videos. The guide also mentions that a repository may include bits and pieces of code from many different people, but only one file or even a sub-routine within a file infringes copyrights. The guide also mentions that code mixes functionality with creative expression, but copyright only protects the expressive elements, not the parts that are functional. The guide also mentions that there are often licenses to consider, and that just because a piece of code has a copyright notice does not necessarily mean that it is infringing. The guide also mentions that it is possible that the code is being used in accordance with an open-source license. The guide also mentions that a particular use may be fair-use if it only uses a small amount of copyrighted content, uses that content in a transformative way, uses it for educational purposes, or some combination of the above. The guide also mentions that because code naturally lends itself to such uses, each use case is different and must be considered separately. The guide also mentions that code may be alleged to infringe in many different ways, requiring detailed explanations and identifications of works. The guide also mentions that users should have a trained professional evaluate the facts of every takedown notice they send. The guide also mentions that if users are outsourcing their efforts to a third party, they should make sure they know how they operate, and make sure they are not using automated bots to submit complaints in bulk. The guide also mentions that these complaints are often invalid and processing them results in needlessly taking down projects. The guide also mentions that it can be very difficult to determine whether or not a particular work is protected by copyright. The guide also mentions that facts (including data) are generally not copyrightable. The guide also mentions that words and short phrases are generally not copyrightable. The guide also mentions that URLs and domain names are generally not copyrightable. The guide also mentions that since users can only use the DMCA process to target content that is protected by copyright, they should speak with a lawyer if they have questions about whether or not their content is protectable. The guide also mentions that any user affected by a takedown notice may decide to submit a counter notice. The guide also mentions that if they do, the hosting company will re-enable their content within 10-14 days unless the copyright owner notifies them that they have initiated a legal action seeking to restrain the user from engaging in infringing activity relating to the content on the hosting company's platform. The guide also mentions that after redacting personal information, the hosting company publishes all complete and actionable takedown notices. The guide also mentions that the hosting company exercises little discretion in the process other than determining whether the notices meet the minimum requirements of the DMCA. The guide also mentions that it is up to the parties (and their lawyers) to evaluate the merit of their claims, bearing in mind that notices must be made under penalty of perjury. The guide also mentions that the complaint must include a statement that the user has read and understands the hosting company's Guide to Filing a DMCA Notice. The guide also mentions that the complaint must identify the copyrighted work that the user believes has been infringed. The guide also mentions that the complaint must identify the material that the user alleges is infringing the copyrighted work. The guide also mentions that the complaint must explain what the affected user would need to do in order to remedy the infringement. The guide also mentions that the complaint must provide the user's contact information. The guide also mentions that the complaint must provide contact information, if known, for the alleged infringer. The guide also mentions that the complaint must include a statement that the user has a good faith belief that use of the copyrighted materials described above on the infringing web pages is not authorized by the copyright owner, or its agent, or the law, and that the user has taken fair use into consideration. The guide also mentions that the complaint must include a statement that the user swears, under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notification is accurate and that the user is the copyright owner, or is authorized to act on behalf of the owner, of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed. The guide also mentions that the complaint must include the user's physical or electronic signature. The guide also mentions that if users believe that content hosted on the hosting company's platform violates the prohibition against the circumvention of technological measures that effectively control access to works protected by copyright, they should send a report through the Copyright claims form. The guide also mentions that a circumvention claim must include detailed statements that describe what the technical measures are, how they effectively control access to the copyrighted material, and how the accused project is designed to circumvent their previously described technological protection measures. The guide also mentions that the fastest way to get a response is to enter information and answer all the questions on the Copyright claims form. The guide also mentions that users can also send an email notification, and that they may include an attachment if they like, but that they should also include a plain-text version of their letter in the body of their message. The guide also mentions that if users must send their notice by physical mail, they can do that too, but that it will take substantially longer for the hosting company to receive and respond to it. The guide also mentions that notices received via plain-text email have a much faster turnaround than PDF attachments or physical mail. The guide also mentions that if users still wish to mail their notice, the physical address is provided. The guide also mentions that the document is a template, not a specific executed document, so it extracts template-level information only. The guide also mentions that it is a critical template analysis, and that it extracts generic metadata about the template type and structure, not specific party names or details. The guide also mentions that the JSON output requirements include a summary, description, categories, jurisdictions, parties, complexity, and confidence scores for each field. The guide also mentions that the summary should be 2-3 sentences, minimal markdown, user-facing, and explain what the document is and its main purpose. The guide also mentions that the description should be a brief one-line description. The guide also mentions that the categories should be an array of category IDs from the allowed list, with a maximum of 5 items, ordered by relevance. The guide also mentions that the jurisdictions should be an array of jurisdiction IDs from the allowed list, and that it should include all jurisdictions explicitly mentioned or referenced in the document, or be empty if no specific jurisdiction is mentioned. The guide also mentions that the parties should be an array of template party types/roles only, and that it should not include specific names or organizations. The guide also mentions that the complexity should be one of