What is a DMCA takedown notice?

If you have ever taken a look at the "Legal" page of a major American website, you have probably seen they information for where to send "DMCA takedown notices" relating to the website. A DMCA takedown notice is a method under the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act of serving individuals who host electronic copyrighted content with a notice that they are infringing on the rights of the rightful content owner, and requiring them to take action.

Depending on your situation, if an American website violates your copyright, you may want to send a DMCA notice. The text of some of the relevant law on DMCA notices is located here.

Some of the specific requirements of the contents of a DMCA takedown notice are listed in Section 512(c)(3)(A), and include the necessity of:

(i) A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on
behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

(ii) Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works at a single online site are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works at that site.

(iii) Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity and that is to be removed or access to which is to be
disabled, and information reasonably sufficient to permit the service provider to locate the material.

(iv) Information reasonably sufficient to permit the service provider to contact the complaining party, such as an address, telephone number, and, if available, an
electronic mail address at which the complaining party may be contacted.

(v) A statement that the complaining party has a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.

(vi) A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

There are some automatic tools that can help you format your takedown notices, such as the unaesthetic but useful DMCA Generator, but keep in mind these are only formatters and that copyright holders or their agents must determine for themselves that the notice they are sending is valid. If you do not know what you are doing, it is best to contact a licensed legal professional authorized to give advice on DMCA notices.