Smack dat

I have received a DMCA request asking me to remove an image.

Now the question here isn't regarding the image, it's already been removed from my website (I was being lazy and copied it from a Google search).

The question is whether I am legally required to remove the image and what would happen if I ignored the request.

Please note the offending image isn't a person or adult related at all. It's simply a picture of something anyone could make in their kitchen in about 5 minutes.

Also, note the request refers to U.S. Copyright Law under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) however I am in the UK and the website location is also UK.

This is a copy of the email

~Ray

Make your own picture in 5 minutes and use that one.

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j3rkules

It is someone else's picture and you do not have the right to distribute without permission.

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DukeSkywalker

Thats not even properly formatted. The language is ambigious. I'd ignore it. You'll know when not to ignore one. I''m not an attorney. But arguably neither are some of the attorneys who post here.
Ds

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plaster

Just put back the image and tell the guy no. See if anything happens and report back.

Smack dat

Does this US Copyright law apply to me, in the UK?

mikesouth

Yes in the form of international copyright law

bottom line is if it isnt yours and you are using it you are in the wrong

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Mike South

It's No wonder I took up drugs and alcohol, it's the only way I could dumb myself down enough to cope with the morons in this biz.

Smack dat

What is classed as copyright?

If I take a holiday snap and put it on facebook and then someone uses it is it still copyrighted.

AMDWarrior

Are you stupid?

Wait nevermind..

Smack dat

What's the problem?

HairyChick

Think. It is YOUR photo and someone STOLE it and is using it.

Do they have the RIGHT to COPY it?

You admit you don't own it and found it online. You're using someone else's work without permission or compensation. I'm not an attorney or barrister but common sense says you can't take something you have no right to and use it.

Whether the letter is legal or not (I've not sent any out in ten years and don't remember the language) doesn't matter. You admit to using stolen images. Anyone with a brain knows you should remove it, particularly since you admitted in public (the Internet) you stole it.

Meanwhile, ask them how much they require to license its use to you. Apologize, tell them you meant no harm and have removed it. You catch more flies with honey than vinegar.

Again, not legal advice per se but I was very involved in 18 USC 2257 before and after it was passed.

(Yes, I once got a demand of takedown. An employee, whom I fired immediately, decided to steal images rather than use ones I'd licensed or owned copyright to. It was highly embarrassing but partly my fault for not checking his updates)

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marcop

It's called stealing.

DukeSkywalker

Yes, and also under the berne convention.
Ds

__________________
Friend of Bears and Guest of Eagles
I am the clue-finder
Falcon catcher
I am he who causes Falcons to soar due south but no winds caused me.
I am he who has eyes, but not to see.
I am the ring wearer and apron wearer
I am he that carries a pointed staff and raises his fellows with certain grips and words
I am he that knows my brethren in the darkness as well as in the light

Mechanic / Fixer. Literally and figuratively

Olga BongaCash

completely agree!

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Smack dat

So I was right to remove it then?

To be honest I don't get all this nonsense about people worrying over silly photos.

For example, if I took a photo of the front of a hotel and posted it to Facebook saying this is where I am staying and someone took that photo and shared it on Facebook or some other website and said they were staying there or even the hotel owner decided to use it because it was better than the one he tried to take. Like I would give a fuck.

FetishGeek

This part of the DMCA was designed to provide a safe harbor for service providers so that, for example, Youtube couldn't be held criminally liable for copyright infringement conducted by its users as long as Youtube expeditiously removes any content that is reported to be infringing.

Any service provider who receives a proper DMCA take down notice has two choices- By removing the reported content, the service provider is protected from criminal or civil liability in regards to that specific case of infringement. Or, if a service provider ignores the take down request, they loose immunity and could be held liable for the infringement themselves.

However, in this case, it sounds like you are the infringer, not just a service provider, so you could still potentially be held liable regardless.

All countries that are signatories to the Berne convention copyright treaty have similar laws in this regard and must uphold each others copyright protections. So, even though the DMCA is the specific law in the United States, there is a similar law in the UK and the copyright is recognized in both countries.

shake

In that example (holiday photos) maybe not a big deal to you, but if you were paying photographers and such thousands per day for business you wouldn't want just anyone using them. Where would you draw the line? The law says all photos, writing, software are protected by copyright, yes even your grocery list.

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incredibleworkethic

You're asking for advice so people are giving it.

There may or may not be a consequence for keeping it online. The question is, are you willing to take the risk or not? Morally are you ok?

End of discussion. good luck.

Smack dat

I have been thinking about this and I still think it's fucked up. How do I know the person requesting is even the owner of the photo. How does anyone know they are the content owner?

By this reasoning every single aspect of your life would need to be recorded.

You can't just say something is yours unless you have a means to prove it's yours..

Just in this thread for example are plenty of avatars. Did the members create the photos themselves?







I'm not insinuating it's just a thought.

Just because the complainant posts a link to a photo on her site means jack.
How do I know she didn't copy it from somewhere else?

Screwed Up

As far as I know, according to DMCA laws he doesn't even need to be the owner...

You got notified about content that you stole. You admitted that you stole it. What is so difficult to understand?

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FetishGeek

It is illegal, and there are penalties for filing a false DMCA request. If you receive a DMCA request you believe to be false, you could file a lawsuit against that person. If, in the case of the lawsuit, it is revealed that they knowingly filed a false take down notice, you could receive a serious financial reward.

However, if you can be classified as a service provider, you can not immediately be sued by the copyright infringement of your users. If you receive a take down notice, and ignore it, you loose that protection. You now can be sued. So the danger, if you ignore the take down notice, is that you now have legal liability for that infringement, if it can be proved that infringement did occur.

Another possibility, if you ignore the take down notice, they could send the same notice to the service providers you rely on to keep your site online- Your ISP, your hosting company, your payment processing company, the networks that provide advertising on your site. This now notifies them that your site hosts pirated content, if they continue to provide services to you, they could be legally liable for your infringement. Often, in these cases, these companies are going to opt to drop you as a customer instead of take on that kind of liability.

Typically, copyright is assigned the moment a work is created to its creator. It does not need to be registered, though registration can help prove ownership. Unless you are creating your content yourself, or licensing it, or the content already comes with some sort of license allowing you to use it, you can't just use it. It belongs to someone and if you just start using it without permission, you are committing copyright infringement. In the same way, any content you create is yours. Someone else can't just come along and help themselves to your content.

Colmike9

I'd have them prove it. Then if they do, just hotlink it from somewhere else..

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Smack dat

Right but read the email I received again:

Surely a genuine DMCA notice would have some reference or something otherwise anyone can send out an email like this.
Without a reference how am I supposed to know if it's genuine or not?

The email title is DMCA Notice.

Another point, If I used the image as my avatar and this young lady found it would she end up DMCAing Eric

Smack dat

Don't know why I am arguing. It's not really important anyway, just pisses me off that anyone can send an email to anyone and they are expected to jump through hoops with little or no basis.

A quick Google search (first one) of the image shows it on 100's if not 1000's of other sites.

jsmih

WTF, why should you be pissed, you've already admitted you stole the image!

Smack dat

Borrowed, not stole.

The image has been replaced with another image I borrowed.


No seriously, my wife is a photographer. I got her to take a new photo and it's better than the old one anyway.

xXXtesy10

the bro is strong in you

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HairyChick

Ask for proof she owns it. As for my avatar, it was drawn for me as a gift from an artist I hired to do work for a magazine I published. It was signed to me as my property for use in my magazine and the Internet in 1993, when my first site went up. I have the legal documents to use it.

Other images shown could be free images they chose as an avatar. Some my be stolen but are on an adult webmaster chat forum, not on a website to generate income. BUT if the copyright holder notified GFY, they'd remove it with proper legal notification.

You'll find most legitimate webmasters are very careful regarding copyright. Fuckheads use excuses to keep infringing.

Common sense says to ask for proof of copyright. It also says you should ask your web host about it as they will be legally obligated to take down your website with proof of ownership.

You obviously feel we are wrong. Many of us were involved for and against 2257. Do what you wish but don't cry to us if your sites are gone and you are legally responsible for usage. Yes, you can be billed for illegal usage. Refuse to pay? Lawyers can contact barristers if the sum is worth it.

You're taking this as a joke. I have a feeling, at the end, you won't be laughing, but we will be.

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Smack dat

Are you retarded? Seriously?

I have stated multiple times in this thread that the image was removed before I created this thread.
My issue isn't with this particular issue which I already admitted I took from a Google search.
My issue is the whole nature behind copyright and who owns what and what is really proven.

Your holier than thou nature kind of makes me want to stalk you waiting for you to fuck up.

HairyChick

Retarded for standing up against copyright infringement? So claims the admitted thief. The truth hurts, huh?

Copyright isn't complicated. The letter you received gives a URL of the image. Check that site for the copyright holder's claim of ownership. DMCA rules state a full legal name and address where the records are kept, not a po box, be listed on the site. As I said above, ask them for proof. (When I served DCMA notices, it was done via the Post Office, not email, for proof of receipt. A copy was sent to the host and they got copies of the model releases. I didn't have to prove it to the thief, just their host. They can be held liable, too. This isn't rocket science. Common sense can guide you about copyright and how to deal. If you "borrow" an image, unless the site explicitly states usage is freely allowed without a link back or copyright insignia, it's called theft just about everywhere).

Stalk me? Lol. You haven't a clue if I have sites, or what genre, or if they have images. The old sites I created are not mine any longer. Four years in a coma makes it hard to update sites.

You admitted you stole an image which you claimed you removed. Why not give people here access to check your sites for stolen content? Doing so would allow you to remove borrowed content before you're served as well as removing the thief label.

Holier than thou? You challenged me and my avatar as being stolen. I explained how I got it, rather than telling you to fuck off. You can think it's bullshit, doesn't cause me sleepless nights. You don't like the fact people disagree with you. Oh well. If it makes you feel better to threaten and pick on a woman, so be it it speaks a lot for your character. (And now comes the 'your not a real women your a dood' claim, [mispellings on purpose])

Lastly, the email received does cause concern as it isn't as, well, full of legal bullshit and warnings against non-removal. If you think it is fake, do due diligence and investigate. But don't ignore the email as a joke. Respond politely, apologize, state where it was found and inform them of the removal of their image. You catch more flies with honey than vinegar. Don't think distance protects you either. I once filed a DMCA with a Russian host. My cousin translated it to Russian for me and the host took down the site. Oh, yeah, retaliation wasn't pleasant for me or the other site owners when the host was hit with a severe three-day DoS attack. Payback is a bitch goes both ways

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Anti-Semites have Small Penis Syndrome. The only known treatment is electroshock therapy combined with cerebellum removal. Fortunately, it’s a tiny procedure.
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xXXtesy10

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