It is possible that, while browsing the Internet, you have come across a website in which a message about DMCA, meaning that you probably do not know. It is a legal term related to Copyright and digital piracy, as we explain below.
DMCA stands for "Digital Millennium Copyright Act" a law in principle of application only in the United States, although copyright owners from all over the world can benefit from it in practice. They can request the removal of plagiarized or pirated content, either in whole or in part, from any server located in the United States.
This US law was enacted in 1998. Back then there was a lot of concern on the part of content creators to protect their creations. In this way, the law became a lifeline for many owners of intellectual property rights, who now have the possibility of reducing and eliminating the impact of this type of infringement.
Content of the law
DMCA: meaning and how it affects copyright
It is important to know that this law not only punishes the infringement of reproduction rights. It also sanctions the production and distribution of technologies that allow "dodging" copyright protection measures, the famous DRM for its acronym in English.
The DMCA is divided into five titles or sections:
- I: Copyright relating to Live Performances and Phonograms.
- II: Limitation of Liability for online copyright infringement. This section establishes the responsibility of the owners of the servers and the providers of web services.
- III: Guarantee of competence in the repair of computers and computer systems.
- IV: Functions of the Copyright Office.
- V: Copyright laws to protect ship hull design.
As you can see, the most relevant points of the DMCA are those that refer to the extension of the direct or indirect responsibility of internet service providers and other intermediaries (titles II and IV). By virtue of this, the law can request Internet search engines to remove from their results links and pages from around the world that have content protected by intellectual property laws.
There will be those who may think that the DMCA does not affect them, since its scope of application is only limited to the United States. However, whoever believes that is wrong. For the following reasons:
- An offending website may not have your servers in the United States, but surely most of your traffic comes from search engines (Google, Yahoo, Bing and others) which are under US law.
- Portions of this law have been adopted by the European Union through the Electronic Commerce Directive of 2000 (Directive 2000/31/CE of the European Parliament and of the Council, of June 8, 2000). This is a directive referring to certain legal aspects of the information society and electronic commerce.
DMCA Takedown Notices
DMCA: meaning and how it affects copyright
Administrators of web pages, channels of Youtube, Twitch and many other platforms already know what it means to receive a DMCA-based infringement notice. Although it is in principle only warning messages, can lead to unpleasant consequences for offenders, as we explain in the next section.
In general, DMCA notices don't go any further if the recipient shows goodwill. No one is interested in being immersed in a long and expensive legal process. But it should not be overlooked that what the text of the law says about those who act illegally deliberately (which is not always easy to prove) and repeatedly.
The DMCA also makes it a crime to bypass technology access controls, that is, bypassing the "digital lock" to violate copyright. This includes everything from breaking the DRM lock to access the content of an e-book to unlocking a mobile phone or tablet to run software not approved for certain devices.
Consequences and possible sanctions
DMCA: meaning and how it affects copyright
Violation of the guidelines established by the DMCA has consequences that can sometimes be serious. Owners of infringed copyrights may request removal of uploaded content, but also other more drastic measures. Some of them could suppose in certain cases the removal of an internet domain or closing an account in social networks.
Consequences of not complying with the DMCA also include Economic sanctions. In the United States there are even criminal charges if it is shown that the infractions were intentional and repeated over time.
La final conclusion The reason for all this reflection on the DMCA is that it is a legal issue that seriously affects copyright and that can cost those who break the rule some dislike. Something that should not be taken for granted.