Every YouTuber knows that it has become increasingly difficult to create and monetize content on the platform. This is due to a combination of the company’s internal policies, and the misuse of copyright laws by some content creators. The misuse is so prevalent that YouTube is taking legal action against a copyright troll named Christopher Brady. YouTube claimed that, Brady was sending false copyright claims and extorting money from YouTubers. With such complexities in the content marketplace, it pays to be aware of the rules that govern this space. One set of rules you need to familiarize yourself with is the DMCA rules, and more specifically, the DMCA Safe Harbor rule.
The DMCA Safe Harbor stands for Digital Millennium Copyright Act Safe Harbor. It is a provision of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 that protects service providers from copyright infringement litigations. Under this law, a service provider such as YouTube, Facebook, and internet service providers, cannot be sued for copyright infringement for content put on their sites. For instance, if you take a copyrighted song and share it on Facebook, the company is not legally liable. However, the owner of the copyrighted material can open a lawsuit against you, the uploader, for infringement. The same goes for YouTube and similar platforms in the market.
While it is a good rule, the DMCA Safe Harbor is open to abuse. The DMCA was passed in the 1990s, and that was a long time ago on the internet. Technology moves so fast that, at this point, even tech regulations made two or three years ago may find it difficult to keep up with changes in the sector. It is for this reason that people like Christopher Brady can abuse the DMCA safe harbor rules. Such people know that, while YouTube cannot be sued for copyright infringement, reporting individual users for copyright infringement can lead to a takedown of their accounts, and that’s an opportunity for extortion.
However, this is not the only challenge that you could face with regards to the DMCA. There is also the issue of enforcement. The DMCA is primarily an American law, and a content creator may face a problem with enforcement internationally. Related to this, there is the issue of people downloading and re-uploading content from all over the world. This makes taking down such content down almost impossible.
These challenges notwithstanding, the DMCA safe harbor has been quite helpful in growing the content industry. With this law, content creators are always sure that their work will not be misused at a commercial scale. For context, the estate of Marvin Gay of successfully sued for infringement on the copyrights by the song blurred lines.
The goal is to understand the law, and apply it to your advantage. That’s where companies like DMCAAgentService.com come into the picture. This company offers you all the information you need, to navigate the laws and regulations in the content market. It doesn’t matter whether you own a platform where people can post content, or are a content creator, this service will give you all the information you need to succeed. Try them out today, and tap into the multibillion online market, with low risks of crippling lawsuits.