The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) is a very important (and quite often misunderstood and misused Internet law).  The DMCA, codified in 17 U.S.C. § 512, amended the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976. The DMCA provides for severe criminal penalties for circumventing technical measures protecting copyrighted works.

The DMCA protects Internet Service Providers (ISPs) from liability arising from acts of Internet Copyright Infringement by the ISP’s customers. However, there are certain conditions that an ISP must meet in order to qualify for the Act’s safe harbor provisions against Internet Copyright Infringement claims.

To enjoy safe harbor protection, an ISP must:

1. Implement a policy to terminate infringers;

2. Designate a service provider agent for notification of claims of infringement.

3. Provide means to receive notice of infringement and upon obtaining notice act expeditiously to remove, or disable access to the infringing material (this provision is widely known as the DMCA Takedown provision); and

4. Have no actual knowledge of the infringing activity.

Our Internet copyright attorneys and DMCA lawyers can assist you to understand and apply the DMCA, the DMCA Takedown provision, and other important online copyright laws.