What Can I Do If a Large Company Uses My Copyright Protected Work without Permission?

Welcome to Copyright Law Radio. We bring you the best in copyright news, legal advice and information.  From copyright infringement claims and defenses to threat letter issues, DMCA takedown notice letters, copyright licensing, and legal analysis of the latest copyright law cases, we have a copyright attorney who can answer your copyright questions.

Welcome to Copyright Law Radio.  My name is Copyright Attorney Enrico Schaefer.  Today, we are going to talk about an issue that comes up all the time.  An artist or author, otherwise known as the little guy, who produces or authors a piece of original work and the work ends up getting used by a large company without permission.

Play: What Can I Do If a Large Company Uses My Copyright Protected Work without Permission?
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With: Enrico Schaefer

Sponsored by: Traverse Copyright Law

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Ripoff Report is the Hot Spot for Internet Defamation

Internet Defamation and Libel Update:

Our internet lawyers receive dozens of emails and calls from prospective clients each week complaining about defamation on the internet.  Ripoff Report, found at www.ripoffreport.com, is all too often the publisher of false statements of fact.  In a somewhat ironic twist, Ripoff Report screwed up one of their Google Webmaster Tools settings causing the entire site to be removed from the Google Search results.  The incident is reported here.

Click the following link for more information about lawsuits filed against Ripoff Reports for defamation and libel.

Software Lawyers | Judge Rules on Break or Bypass of DRM in DMCA Violation Suit

In an opinion filed July 20, 2010 in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, Circuit Judge Emilio M. Garza ruled that Defendant General Electric did not infringe on a power supplier’s digital copyrights when it used protected software unlocked through a hacked security key.

This ruling is representative of a circuit split with the majority of the nation’s courts on whether bypassing digital rights management (DRM) for purposes that do not violate copyright law constitutes an infringement under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s (DMCA) anti-circumvention provision.

Previously on the other side of the circuit split, courts have held that any bypass or breaking of DRM constituted an infringement under the DMCA’s anti-circumvention provision, regardless of whether the bypass or breaking of DRM was used to violate intellectual property interests.

The case is MGE UPS Systems Inc., v. GE Consumer and Industrial Inc.; GE Industrial Systems Inc.; General Electric Company; Power Maintenance International Inc., U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, No. 08-10521.

Want to Censor Third-Party Content? Target the Registrar or Web Host.

Bogus copyright takedown notices have become much more common. These copyright infringement letters target the web host or other third party vendor providing back on technology for your website. These third parties are typically not looking for a copyright fight and may not do the due diligence necessary in determining the validity of a copyright infringement claim.

E-Commerce News: Controversies: Domain Name Registrars: The Weakest Link in Online Free Speech

Permission First Avoids DMCA Take Down Notice Or Copyright Threat Letter

Always get permission before using images or pictures taken by someone else. Pictures taken by someone else are copyright protected and subject to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

Capital v Thomas DMCA Litigation: Damage Award Contested

Statutory damages are a huge weapon under the DMCA for copyright infringement, as well as other federal intellectual property states such as the ACPA for domain name cybersquatting.

Enforcing Your Copyright Under DMCA

How to enforce your copyright under DMCA:

1. Contact the website owner;
2. Send a Take-Down Notice to the Online Service Provider (“OSP”);
3. Send a Take-Down Notice to the Company that Registers the URL;
4. Send a Take-Down Notice to the Search Engines.

SEOmoz | Four Ways to Enforce Your Copyright: What to Do When Your Online Content Is Being Stolen

Copyright Act (DMCA), On-Line Defamation, Media Law & First Amendment Attorneys

 Specializing In Copyright Act (DMCA), On-Line Defamation, Media Law & First Amendment Issues: Traverse Legal's attorneys handle a wide variety of on-line defamation, copyright, Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and First Amendment/ free speech issues. We regularly assist clients in the filing and protection of copyrights and defamation threats, responding to and drafting copyright infringement and defamation threat letters on behalf of our clients.  On-line copyright infringement and defamation has also become rampant with the creation of easy Internet publishing tools such as youtube, blogs and bulletin boards.  

Managing Partner Enrico Schaefer: "Traverse Legal's attorneys know Copyright Act (DMCA), On-Line Defamation, Media Law & First Amendment law and pride themselves on advanced litigation techniques which are both cost-effective and budget oriented.  When it comes to technology, there are very few firms that can match our capabilities. Because we are a boutique litigation law firm, we know how to strategically and efficiently accomplish our client's goals. "

If you have a on-line defamation, copyright, media law or DMCA issue, or wish to register a copyright, you may contact one of our attorneys for a free evaluation or call 866.936.7447 (International Toll Free).

 

What do copyrights protect?  Copyright, a form of intellectual property law, protects original works of authorship including literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works, such as poetry, novels, movies, songs, computer software, and architecture.

Handling a DMCA Takedown Notice

Jaffe Juice is another one of the many who has been forced to deal with a bogus DMCA takedown notice. For anyone out there who could potentially receive a takedown notice, bloggers and others hosting web content, it is a good idea to brush up on what your course of action is should you receive one of these notices. Take a look here to see how Jaffe handled the problem.