Quote:
Originally Posted by 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
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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.