What to do when a provider fails to do a valid DMCA takedown
 

I have someone who stole my layout and used the same content etc (ie copied everything except the link code :1orglaugh

Now putting pressure on the site got them to change the images, but the whole site is still based on my design and copy.

The provider just seems incapable of taking down a blatant copy as it where. What options do I have if the provider just doesn't take down the site, when even they can see its a copy.

What options are available to me ?

Cheers

Stu

Bust some kneecaps.

That's about all you can do. There aren't many protections against stealing a design unless they are using copyrighted content.

sue them no other options/

keep following the proper steps. That's all the courts will care about.

Send the site all useless traffic and blow their bandwidth bill :)

Yoy pay a lawyer to send the DMCA takedown notice - find a local one, and make sure they know about the internet. Do NOT waste your time with a office thay dont know how the internet work and what the laws are.

They WILL respond


P.S. And post the url of the thief and the host that dont repond helps as well

Hopefully you sent a CERTIFIED letter via snail mail serving them with the DMCA. Do that and they will most likely take it down since they have been served with the DMCA.

Wait until they change the ref codes :)

That's exactly what he was asking. Not very helpful. :2 cents:

Sending notice to the site itself is a good first step, but often it's necessary to send the DMCA notice to the webhosting company - if you haven't done that, do that next.

The webhosting company must take action upon notification ... taking down immediately or, with some providers, giving the customer a chance to respond with a challenge to the notification; not required ... a webhost can take down immediately upon DMCA notification, and many do.

On a related note, DMCA is a U.S. law ... foreign based hosts / sites often ignore DMCA notices, though some will still abide by them, especially if they have lots of U.S. customers to avoid raising the ire of U.S. authorities.

Ron

Did you actually register the design of the site and hold a valid US Registered Copyright certificate ?

That doesn't matter at this point. Regardless of whether the copyright is registered or not, the ISP (webhosting provider), if U.S. based, must respond to a valid, properly served DMCA notice.

If the client of the ISP counters the DMCA notification, that's when copyright registration comes into play.

Again, at this point, the webhost hasn't responded at all, and that's a violation of the DMCA law - can lose their safe harbor status.

Ron

Addendum. I read this thread too quick.

Ok, so the OP is speaking of protecting design / layout, and perhaps the webhost (ISP) already did respond?

Anyways, design / layout is a different, complicated issue ... some of that can potentially be addressed utilizing trademark law (trade dress in particular), which is a totally different thing than copyright.

Ron

Agreed but since they arent responding then it does matter since if he hasnt registered the copyright then he cant file for copyright infringement. If he has registered he can file and serve the host and I can guaranty the site will come down. Lawsuits usually result in a very quick response.

Design is complicated because you can't really copyright everything from plagiarism (like the html), but if it is with graphics, like a logo, then it should apply just like any other picture? No need to register that, except for the hard proof?

He also said content was being used... I forgot to ask if he had registered that in my original response.

But you are correct, designs are harder to protect. But look and feel are possible claims. Harley Davidson even sued Honda or Kawasaki because of the sound their V-Twins made in comparison to their motors.

He can of course register, it only takes a few minutes, then file suit. You have to
register before filing suit, but you do NOT have to register before the infringement occurs.

If someone had copied the general design to make a SIMILAR site, that, I think,
would be trademark or design patent material. However, I think he said it's an exact
replica. If it's an exact replica, meaning that the HTML is identical, including all of the
text, that sounds like simple copyright to me. The text on the page, and the HTML,
is protected by copyright just as much as the images are.

I had to think for a minute whether the HTML itself would be under copyright, but
then it occurred to me that the source code for any software has copyright, though
the user normally doesn't see the source. The HTML source for a web page is very
much like the C sourcefor a program - a textual work that the user doesn't generally
see, but is nevertheless covered by copyright.

BTW - you might want to talk to http://www.removemycontent.com and see what,
if anything, they would do for you at this point.

It actually takes about 8 weeks to get back a registration from the US Copyright Office. The quickest way is to do it online. And you cannot file a copyright infringement lawsuit in federal court without the registration. If it isnt registered before the infringement your damages are limited to actual. You do not get statutory damages.

Call your lawyer! GL and damn those bastards.

Sorry for the late reply people!

Basically, it seems that me moaning at them all the time (ie almost daily) has caused something positive to happen. The site has now been taken down in its totality and is replaced with something that is not ripped from myself.

The thing is, it really, really shouldn't take over 3 weeks to get a site that is almost identical, even down to the layout of the html taken down. However all is well that ends well. They had a higher SEO ranking than me for the term also :disgust

Glad to see you got a resolution of some sort