The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) allows a copyright holder to send a takedown notice to an online service provider that is hosting a copyright-protected work posted by a third party. But, lest the law be used to suppress lawful speech, the DMCA requires that a takedown notice contain (among other things) a “statement that the complaining party has a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law,” and certify, under the penalty of perjury, that the information in the notification is accurate. What if someone sends a takedown notice that is authorized by the law, and does so in bad faith? The law provides that – [a]ny person who knowingly materially misrepresents under this section . . . that material or activity is infringing . . . shall be liable for any damages, including costs and attorneys’ fees, incurred by the alleged infringer . . . as the result of the service provider relying upon such misrepresentation in removing or disabling access to the material or activity claimed to be infringing . . .. But there is a hidden nuance to the law: what if the takedown notice demands takedown of a work that the complaining party owns, but where the use that is the subject of the notice is protected by the copyright fair use doctrine? In other…
I am a founding partner at the Boston law firm of Gesmer Updegrove LLP. This blog focuses on my practice areas: IP, business and antitrust law, as well as any other topic (legal or otherwise) that strikes my fancy. I've also tried to make the blog (and my scribd.com page, below), a resource on practice in the Massachusetts state and federal courts.