HELP : A copyright infringement legal notice I received

below is the email I have received, its for an image hosting site. since is a free image hosting anyone can upload anything, thats why we have provided "report" button.

what am I supposed to do now ?

 

remove the urls and just send them a reply saying you have complied.

 

thanks for the reply.

I have already removed those urls, and sent back the reply. But I also received some harassing email from him tellimg me to poilce myself : lol, he has lost his mind..

 

Exactly. I would also suggest doing it quickly.

 

make sure you keep copy's of the harassment and don't reply it will only escalate things. the only thing you really can do is remove the content and give the user a warning. if the member is a repeat offender ban them from the site.

 

Paste the contents of the email here or google/copyscape parts of it. It may well be a template follow up

 

Basically you need to remove the infringing content (images) from your site as soon as possible. You might also want to warn the specific member of your site that they have posted copyrighted content. Make sure that your Terms of Service for the site also makes it clear that your members are not allowed to upload copyrighted content to which they don't own the rights.

If you haven't done so already (and if you are US based) you'll also need to register a copyright agent with the US copyright office in order for your site to be protected under the DMCA safe harbor provisions (you need to meet all the criteria to qualify for protection).

His suggestion for "policing" yourself isn't that far fetched since under the DMCA you'll need to have certain measures in place to prevent copyright infringement on your site (periodically checking uploads, having a report button etc.).

 

Thanks for the input Crusader !

I am not in US, but I have very strict rules and also copyright notice that clearly says what you have said, and also report button, however I didnt check the images for long time, its been more than 100000, but I will go through them from time to time..

 

You delete de conten, and re-send de e-mail

 

Yes Better Delete The Urls They Provided And Think To Give Him A Warning.

 

That's a C&D. It's an empty threat. Just throw it in the trash.

 

I've gotten to date 12 different infringement complaints. Bear in mind, they were from small boys, not like the MPAA. But still, I've yet to see anything happen. I've actually added "DMCA" into my spam filter. I'm tired of freaky little men telling me they own the copyright on some 5 word phrase that showed up in a blog they can't prove they owned 2 years ago. I'm not joking. 5 words.

 

Exactly.

If you deal with images in any form.. anime, celeb, etc. You are going to get these one rare occasion. Best not to EVER use Perfect 10, Playboy, Suz Randall among a few others.

Anyway, you remove whatever they complain about in 24 hours. Reply you've done so. Any further harassment e-mails or correspondence you save in your defense. Do not respond.

Do that and you'll be fine.

The end.

 

Hilarious.

 

Heh thanks. In hindsight, I agree. The first few times though, I was not exactly amused.