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ARTICLE · 06 MAY 2025

A DMCA Takedown Notice Is A Powerful Tool If Done Correctly

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Are Your Copyright Infringement Takedown Notices Going Nowhere? Online Companies May Have Misled You Into Submitting a Non-Compliant DMCA Takedown Notice.

United StatesIntellectual Property
Jeremiah Foley
Jeremiah Foley
Kaylynn Williamson
Kaylynn Williamson
Matthew L. Cutler
Matthew L. Cutler

Are Your Copyright Infringement Takedown Notices Going Nowhere? Online Companies May Have Misled You Into Submitting a Non-Compliant DMCA Takedown Notice.

A DMCA Takedown notice is a powerful tool in a copyright owner's arsenal to remove infringing content from popular websites. One may think that a complaint to such a website would serve the same purpose. However, an investigation by Harness IP reveals that many companies provide instructions to copyright owners that are very close to legitimate DMCA Takedown Notices...but seem to mislead those copyright owners into making one or more technical errors. As such, these complaints may lead nowhere, and the website companies have an argument that a proper DMCA Takedown Notice was not submitted. This article explores examples of how numerous online companies seem to mislead copyright owners to submit non-compliant DMCA takedown notices to give those companies a defense against copyright infringement if they are

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