Whether you’re a blogger, post videos to YouTube, share photos or run your own ecommerce website, it pays to keep abreast of copyright law. Of course, sometimes it pays even more to stay ahead of it. To do either, you first need to understand what you’re dealing with. In the U.S., that means understanding the ins and outs of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).
Whether you’re a blogger, post videos to YouTube, share photos or run your own ecommerce website, it pays to keep abreast of copyright law. Of course, sometimes it pays even more to stay ahead of it. To do either, you first need to understand what you’re dealing with. In the U.S., that means understanding the ins and outs of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).
Even if you’re not producing or publishing content yourself, chances are you’ve seen the effects the DMCA before. Do a Google search for “watch Game of Thrones online,” scroll down to the bottom of the page and you’ll see a notice from Google that the company removed several results from search due copyright complaints received under the act.
The complaints were likely received via HBO lawyers in the form of DMCA takedown notices, which legally obliged Google to remove the results in order to maintain safe harbor from legal action. Such notices are also sent to YouTube to pull videos, and if you host your own website there’s a chance you could be the recipient of one at some point.
In this guide, we’ll give you a full run down of the essentials of DMCA to help you better understand it, discuss how copyright holders often abuse the law to protect their own interests and give you a few tips on how to keep DMCA abuse from sinking your own web endeavors.
Read the rest of this valuable guide here.
Here is a DMCA guide specifically tailored to bloggers.
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