What Is DMCA and How Do I Defend My Adult IP?
Protecting your intellectual property and copyrights are important matters to deal with when in the adult entertainment industry. In the United States of America, there are sets of laws that all publishers of content and distributors of content must adhere to. For the studios and website owners who produce their own original content, by far one of the most important laws to know about is the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). DMCA was passed and signed into law in 1998. It revolutionized copyright law in the United States and put the focus on IP across entertainment.
What Is DMCA?
The federal Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 legitimized a pair of treaties adopted by the World Intellectual Property Organization’s member countries that align current federal laws with the international community. DMCA criminalizes the illegal reproduction of copyrighted works. A provision in the new law also limits the liability of the providers of online platforms or services for copyright infringement by their third-party users. Further, the DMCA also adopted a public policy innovation in the field of copyright law that grants an exemption from direct and indirect liability for the online web platforms and their companies for the actions of infringement by other individuals.
Why Does DMCA Matter in Entertainment?
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act is used to protect against content piracy. The entertainment industries utilize DMCA as a mitigation measure to protect their proprietary content. Groups like the Recording Industry Association of America and the Motion Picture Association are major advocates for the DMCA and other benchmark copyright legislation to discourage and work to mitigate the illegal downloading and the online piracy (theft) of music and major motion pictures. DMCA is used quite liberally by the entertainment industry to threaten legal action against pirates.
How Does DMCA Impact Porn & Adult Entertainment?
DMCA applies to the adult entertainment industry because content piracy in the industry is one of the biggest issues and controversies as it relates to adult tube sites and other illegal platforms. To simplify, DMCA is a legal mechanism that enables individuals and studios who are the victims of the actions of content pirates. For example, adult content pirates may upload stolen porn videos from an OnlyFans account to a popular porn tube site that doesn’t require user and age verification. If the original publisher detects the stolen content, that publisher can fill out the DMCA complaint form. It is incumbent upon the site operator to heed the complaint and work to remove the content that is reported by the complaining publisher. At least, this would be the way things would work in a perfect world when submitting a request to protect copyrighted content.
DMCA Criticism
There is a lot of criticism surrounding the success and implementation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The Information Technology & Innovation Foundation suggests that the DMCA, while ostensibly developed and passed to reduce online piracy, has done nothing to limit a recent uptick in piracy on the internet. The Global Innovation Policy Center, an affiliated organization of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, estimated that online piracy accounted for well over 26.6 billion views of films produced in the United States and over 126.7 billion views of TV episodes every single year. The same information from the Global Innovation Policy Center also indicates that other statistics show online piracy clearly covers photos and short videos – including adult content and porn pics.
How Do You Report DMCA Claims?
DMCA reporting is, nonetheless, a necessary process. The DMCA notice and takedown process is a legal tool for copyright holders to finally remove user-uploaded content and material that infringes on a copyrighted piece of content. There are several elements that are needed to be included when you submit takedown requests and notices that are clearly outlined and direct. Otherwise, service providers like adult websites can refuse to comply with a takedown order without a mention of that material. Even if a takedown notice is submitted and it meets the legal requirements of the DMCA, the service providers could refuse the request. If they refuse, they open themselves up to lawsuits.
This is a process that often requires a lawyer and a knowledge of copyright laws. However, there are several services and consultancies available to adult content creators and studios that make DMCA reporting and takedown requests a simpler, streamlined, and an even automated process. We have written about the best content piracy mitigation providers for site owners and creators. But we will mention one of these providers. One of the most popular services out there is a site called Take Down Piracy. They provide detection, reporting, and removal services across the internet.
Should I Retain an Intellectual Property Rights Lawyer?
What should you do when you are dealing with content piracy and violations of your intellectual property? Besides having a firm like Take Down Piracy, the best solution is to retain a lawyer who specializes in intellectual property rights and free speech. In fact, we wrote up a recent blog post about the best lawyers in the adult industry. All these lawyers are extremely well-regarded across the entire adult entertainment industry.