
Hackers Guide to DMCA Takedown Requests - lucasgonze
http://some.gonze.com/2016/07/11/guide-to-handling-dmca-takedown-requests/
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flashman
Can you explain why you would record an infringement before the three day
window for counter notices has expired? You have no section for
decrementing/annulling infringements or re-enabling accounts, so if you follow
this process, I can disable your users' accounts simply by filing two bad-
faith DMCA notices.

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sintaxi
...under penalty of perjury.

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arca_vorago
Yeah and I would like to see how often this actually gets enforced. The fact
of the matter is that DMCA is being abused all over the Internet to silence
people, but I can't say I've heard of a single case of "he abused the DMCA,
now he's going to pay a huge fine."

~~~
6stringmerc
In my opinion such a case is bound to come about. The Axl Rose 'meme purge'
attempt via DMCA didn't seem to do much legally speaking, only be another
Streisand Effect situation. The rights 'representative' though in the Axl case
would - I think - be a good test for the legal aspects. Authorized
representation makes sense, and if the rep can show tangible proof of
assignment (i.e. owner genuinely owns property in question, like the photo
rights) then the DMCA looks to be working as intended. Tests are pretty needed
though, I agree.

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michael_storm
Proposed improvement: mark the actions that are legally required. I've waded
through enough technically-ambiguous regulatory language to know that having a
clear requirement/recommendation distinction can be pretty helpful.

Other than that, seems like a decent guide (with the non-legal advice
caveats). Good job, author.

~~~
lucasgonze
Marking legal requirements is a good idea. I'll consider that an issue to
address.

Thanks!

------
lucasgonze
I have created an updated version to incorporate comments.

Most comments were about when to decrement the infringement counter. Some went
to important unknowns like the threshold of proof before incrementing the
infringement counter.

To facilitate ongoing work, I have created a Github version of the project:

[https://github.com/lucasgonze/hackersdmcaguide](https://github.com/lucasgonze/hackersdmcaguide)

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dlgeek
The flowchart doesn't have a path for if you get a notice that the agent has
actually followed suit - I'll take that as a commentary on the process as it's
so incredibly rare.

~~~
lucasgonze
You're right that the key point is that this is so rare. A simple chart like
this is only possible if you're making a lot of 80/20 choices.

Any time something happens that falls out of an 80/20 choice, call a lawyer.
This should happen rarely enough that the legal bills don't kill you.

(Note: if you are deliberately running an infringement business, there is no
80/20 path for you. Don't be this guy).

Maybe there should be a decision path for calling a lawyer.

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kyledrake
This is a pretty good guide generally.

I am a bit skiddish about the counter filing process. What is "filing suit" in
this context? That process isn't clear to me.

~~~
schoen
Filing suit means starting a lawsuit against someone (in the case of
copyright, a Federal lawsuit).

[http://www.uscourts.gov/about-federal-courts/types-
cases/civ...](http://www.uscourts.gov/about-federal-courts/types-cases/civil-
cases)

