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  1. What is the Digital Millennium Copyright Act?

  2. What does the Act mean by “monetary relief” and “injunctive relief”?

  3. What is a “service provider”? Will the Act protect my online company?

  4. What types of claims of copyright infringement does the Act protect against?

  5. Can all companies doing business online benefit from either Section 512(c) or Section 512(d)
    of the Act?
  6. My website contains links to other websites. Will the Act protect me from liability for
    copyright infringement based on infringing material on those other websites?

  7. Does the Act protect online service providers based outside the United States?

  8. What do I have to do to protect myself from liability for copyright infringement?

  9. How can eCopyrightAgent.com help? What services do you provide?

  10. What do you mean by “maintain that portion of your website containing the Act’s required information”?

  11. What happens when eCopyrightAgent.com receives a notification of claimed copyright infringement for my company?

  12. Okay, eCopyrightAgent.com has forwarded me a notification of claimed copyright infringement. Now what do I do?

  13. What do you mean by “takedown” procedures?

  14. Could I be sued for removing someone else’s material from my website or removing a link on my site to someone else’s website?

  15. Am I required to have a lawyer and, if so, must I retain Stewart & Associates?

  16. My company employs in-house counsel. Is there any reason to use outside counsel?

  17. Is there any relationship between eCopyrightAgent.com and Stewart & Associates?

  18. Okay, so eCopyrightAgent.com is my Designated Agent and I have followed eCopyrightAgent.com’s instructions to upload required information to my website. I have received a notification of claimed copyright infringement under circumstances covered by Section 512(c) or 512(d) of the Act, and I have followed the notification, counter-notification, and takedown procedures. Am I guaranteed to be protected from liability for monetary damages for copyright infringement?

  19. How much will this cost?

  20. Can the annual fee increase?

  21. May I cancel my agreement with eCopyrightAgent.com?

  22. Okay, I’ve decided to use eCopyrightAgent.com as my company’s Designated Agent. Now what do I do?

 

  1. What is the Digital Millennium Copyright Act?
    The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (the “Act”) is a law passed by Congress and signed by President Clinton in 1998. Among other things, the purpose of the Act is to protect “service providers” from liability for monetary relief and some forms of injunctive relief for certain claims of copyright infringement. Click here to read the Act.
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  2. What does the Act mean by “monetary relief” and “injunctive relief”?
    Under the Act, “monetary relief” means money damages (such as judgments in court), court costs, attorneys’ fees, and “any other form of monetary payment.” If a company is held liable for copyright infringement, money damages can be substantial. The Act can eliminate a service provider’s potential liability for such damages if the service provider meets the Act’s requirements. “Injunctive relief” generally refers to an order by a court, not involving the payment of money, directing a party to do something or ordering a party not to do something. Though some types of injunctive relief are still possible under the Act, the Act severely limits the types of such relief that may be granted.
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  3. What is a “service provider”? Will the Act protect my online company?
    For most purposes, the Act defines a “service provider” as “a provider of online services or network access.” Most companies doing business on the World Wide Web provide some type of online service or network access and may therefore benefit from the Act.
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  4. What types of claims of copyright infringement does the Act protect against?
    The Act has two sections applicable to most online companies. Section 512(d) covers “linking” to other websites. Specifically, this section may provide protection “for infringement of copyright by reason of the [service] provider referring or linking users to an online location containing infringing material or infringing activity, by using information location tools, including a directory, index, reference, pointer, or hypertext link”.
    Section 512(d) may be beneficial to any company owning or operating a website that contains one or more “links” or other references to other websites. Section 512(c) may provide protection “for infringement of copyright by reason of the storage at the direction of a user of material that resides on a system or network controlled or operated by or for the service provider”. This situation would typically occur where the website allows users or subscribers to place material on the website; for example, by way of a personal homepage, a message board, or a chat room.
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  5. Can all companies doing business online benefit from either Section 512(c) or Section 512(d) of the Act?
    No, but most companies doing business online can. If your website does not contain links or references to external websites AND does not allow third parties (such as users or subscribers) to place material on your website, then Section 512(c) or Section 512(d) of the Act may not be of benefit to your company.
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  6. My website contains links to other websites. Will the Act protect me from liability for copyright infringement based on infringing material on those other websites?
    Yes, the Act may provide protection, but only if you or your company meets the requirements of the Act.
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  7. Does the Act protect online service providers based outside the United States?
    Yes it could. The Act protects against online service providers from liability for certain claims under the copyright laws of the United States. Since online service providers based outside the United States run the risk of violating the United States copyright laws, such non-U.S. companies may obtain benefits from compliance with the Act.
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  8. What do I have to do to protect myself from liability for copyright infringement?
    The Act has numerous requirements. Under the above-described situations, the Act provides protection only “if the service provider has designated an agent to receive notifications of claimed infringement”. In addition, the Act details certain information that you must provide on your website. Then, if your designated agent receives a notification of claimed copyright infringement, you are required to act “expeditiously” and to follow a very specific series of notification, counter-notification, and takedown procedures.
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  9. How can eCopyrightAgent.com help? What services do you provide?
    eCopyrightAgent.com will serve as your or your company’s “Designated Agent” for receipt of notifications of copyright infringement. As your Designated Agent, eCopyrightAgent.com will do all of the following:
    • Prepare and file the necessary papers with the Register of Copyrights;
    • Provide the material required by the Act for inclusion on your website;
    • Maintain that portion of your website containing the Act’s required information, as necessary;
    • Monitor for notices of claimed copyright infringement 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year; and
    • Notify you “expeditiously” if we receive a notification of claimed copyright infringement with respect to your website.
    The purpose of eCopyrightAgent.com is to ensure that you enjoy the protection of the Act and that you will not lose the protections of the Act on the basis of technicalities.
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  10. What do you mean by “maintain that portion of your website containing the Act’s required information”?
    The Act requires that your website contain certain provisions and other information. When you sign up for service, eCopyrightAgent.com will provide these provisions and information to you in HTML format for uploading to your website. This information may need to be updated from time to time as the result of Congressional changes to the Act or court interpretations of the Act. If so, we will endeavor to provide you with updated content. This is included in your annual fee.
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  11. What happens when eCopyrightAgent.com receives a notification of claimed copyright infringement for my company?
    If we receive a notification of claimed copyright infringement, eCopyrightagent.com will expeditiously forward the notice to you by email and fax and will continue to attempt to contact you personally by telephone until we are certain the notification is in your hands. Our commitment is to notify you as expeditiously as possible, usually within a few hours or less on business days.
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  12. Okay, eCopyrightAgent.com has forwarded me a notification of claimed copyright infringement. Now what do I do?
    The Act requires that you follow a fairly complex set of notification, counter-notification, and “takedown” procedures. It is imperative that these procedures are strictly followed. As a result, your agreement with eCopyrightAgent.com provides that an attorney from the law firm ofStewart & Associates, Wilmington, Delaware will contact you by phone, email, fax or other writing in order to discuss possible legal representation with respect to complying with the Act’s requirements. Stewart & Associates is committed to staying current with the Act’s requirements and has developed CopyNottm, a proprietary “Copyright Notification Response System”, to ensure a rapid, efficient, accurate, and legally compliant response to the notification of claimed infringement. Click here to learn more about CopyNottm from Stewart & Associates’ website.
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  13. What do you mean by “takedown” procedures?
    If a notification of claimed copyright infringement complies with legal requirements, you will be required expeditiously to remove or disable access to allegedly infringing material. Under certain other circumstances, you will be required to replace or remove disabled material. When we refer to “takedown” procedures, we are referring to these requirements.
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  14. Could I be sued for removing someone else’s material from my website or for removing a link on my site to someone else’s website that appears to infringe a copyright?
    Not if the requirements of the Act are met. The Act provides that a company will not be liable for any claim based on a service provider’s good faith disabling of access to, or removal of, material or activity claimed to be infringing, regardless of whether the material or activity is ultimately determined to be infringing. As with other aspects of the Act, the protection from liability will apply only if other requirements of the Act are met.
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  15. Am I required to have a lawyer and, if so, must I retain the law firm of Stewart & Associates?
    No. You may choose to represent yourself, or you may use your existing lawyer or in-house counsel. You should be aware, however, that the Act’s requirements are complex, the law in this field is constantly evolving, and the stakes in a copyright infringement lawsuit can be high. Since the law firm of Stewart & Associates has developed a proprietary system of response compliant with the Act (see Question 12), the firm stands ready to service you should you and the firm agree to representation.
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  16. My company employs in-house counsel. Is there any reason to use outside counsel?
    Yes, there may be benefits to retaining outside counsel even if your company has in-house counsel. To see a more complete discussion of this issue by Stewart & Associates, click here. See also Question 12).
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  17. Is there any relationship between eCopyrightAgent.com and Stewart & Associates?
    Yes. eCopyrightAgent.com and Stewart & Associates share common ownership and control.
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  18. Okay, so eCopyrightAgent.com is my Designated Agent and I have followed eCopyrightAgent.com’s instructions to upload required information to my website. I have received a notification of claimed copyright infringement under circumstances covered by Section 512(c) or 512(d) of the Act, and I have followed the notification, counter-notification, and takedown procedures. Am I guaranteed to be protected from liability for monetary damages for copyright infringement?
    No. While the Act provides significant protections, the Act contains certain other legal requirements some of which, in general, may be beyond either your or eCopyrightAgent.com’s control. In general, for the protections from liability to apply, you cannot have had actual knowledge of the infringing activity or have been aware of facts or circumstances from which infringing activity was apparent. In addition, you must not have received a financial benefit directly attributable to the infringing activity, in a case in which you have the right and ability to control such activity. Finally, you must accommodate and not interfere with standard technical measures used by copyright owners to identify or protect copyrighted works.
    Further, there can never be any guarantees in the event of a lawsuit or related controversy. At eCopyrightAgent.com, however, our goal is to give you the strongest argument possible under the Act for protection against money damages under the existing facts and circumstances surrounding a particular claim of copyright infringement.
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  19. How much will this cost?
    There is an annual fee, payable in advance, and a one-time setup fee. Click here for eCopyrightAgent.com’s current schedule of fees. The one-time setup fee covers setting up your account, preparation and filing of the document to be filed with the United States Register of Copyrights (and includes the filing fee), and furnishing in HTML format the material that you must upload to your website.
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  20. Can the annual fee increase?
    Once you have paid your annual fee, your fee for the current year will not increase. For subsequent years, the fees are subject to increase, but only with 60 days’ notice. In this event, you will of course be free to cancel. See Question 21.
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  21. May I cancel my agreement with eCopyrightAgent.com?
    You may cancel your agreement with eCopyrightAgent.com at any time; however, fees that have already been paid to eCopyrightAgent.com are not refundable. If eCopyrightAgent.com decides to cancel the agreement, we will refund a pro-rata portion of fees for any remaining portion of your pre-paid year of service.
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  22. Okay, I’ve decided to use eCopyrightAgent.com as my company’s Designated Agent. Now what do I do?
    Just click here to apply online. You may either pay online or by mail. Following payment, eCopyrightAgent.com will contact you with further instructions.
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