Final post in the series on making a pirate walk the
plank, or Digital Pirating.
In the last post on pirating, we established what
was needed in a DMCA takedown notice and what the actual law was in layman’s (my)
terms.
Here’s a recap and Saving For Someday has
graciously allowed other bloggers to copy her template and post for the benefit
of all. So here’s that takedown notice template and yes, please get this in
motion by posting any part of these posts along with the template to help other
authors.
Below was taken to provide a SAMPLE DMCA
TAKEDOWN NOTICE TEMPLATE. You are free to cut/paste and use it as you
see fit. You will need to gather the appropriate information specific to your
request, which I have designated in red. Need
more info, go here: http://www.savingforsomeday.com/how-to-file-a-dmca-takedown-notice/
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
SAMPLE DMCA TAKEDOWN NOTICE TEMPLATE.
To Whom It May Concern,
The following information serves to assert my
rights and request removal of allegedly infringing web content under the
Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). The following is a report, in good
faith, of alleged copyright infringement. I am contacting you as the designated
agent for the site upon which the infringing work currently appears. This
letter is a Notice of Infringement as authorized in §512(c) of the U.S.
Copyright Law.
I am the copyright owner of the works and the
following is true and accurate.
1. The original work, for which I claim
copyright, appears, with my permission, at the following locations online:
{URLs
WHERE YOUR ORIGNAL AUTHORIZED WORK APPEARS}
2. Copies of my original copyrighted work are {attached/included/provided} to assist you in your
evaluation and determination.
3. The allegedly infringing {work/text/image} appears at the following
location(s) online:
{URLs
WHERE INFRINGING WORK IS CURRENTLY LOCATED}
4. My contact information, as copyright holder, is as follows:
{INCLUDE
YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION}
5. The information of the alleged copyright infringer is:
{INSERT WHOIS INFORMATION FOR THE
SITE YOU ALLEGE IS INFRINGING}
6. I have a good faith belief the use of the
above reference copyrighted work(s) that appears on the website for which you
are the designated DMCA agent is not authorized by the copyright owner, its
agent, or by law.
I declare, under penalty of perjury, this notice
is true and correct and that I am the copyright owner entitled to exclusive
rights which I allege are being infringed.
Signed this ________ day of ___________, 20_____
in {INSERT CITY, STATE, COUNTY}.
{YOUR SIGNATURE/eSIGNATURE}
NOW HERE’S SOMETHING A BIT JUICY
When I first mentioned I’d had a case of
jerk-pirating and I’d done basically everything wrong. But strange enough, the
pirate removed my book I believe because I did one thing right. I notified Google and
Facebook, demanding they remove the OSP (online service provider) including
links. I included that information as attachments to my takedown emails (to these
two GODS of the Internet). And that is where the power of the DMCA takedown notice lies. The law requires that not only the OSP PIRATE remove the infringed upon material but also that host site. Well, Google wasn’t hosting but they were in the mix regardless. And Facebook has allowed for users to complain, so of course, I took them up on that offer.
What can you do? Learn to do a domain or IP search.
This search will lead you to determine who is actually hosting the pirate,
cause there’s nothing worse than the hand that supports this jerk. According to
the DMCA law, you have the right to ask the host to remove the offending
pirate. If you know how to conduct an IP search what you get back is
astounding. My all-time fav snooping site is DNS Stuff. http://www.dnsstuff.com/tools
So now you’ve got quite a bit of info in which to
base whom to send a notice to and their contact info.
Does it always work? Again, no. But if you let the
pirate know you’re willing to not only harangue them but you’re also contacting
their lifeline, or blood cash-flow line, chances are someone will take notice of
you.
Doing a domain search is simple. Go here http://whois.net/ and plug in an
address (website) and the registrant information is flashed back to you. If you
can find the IP address that helps immensely with contact info. Next, you might
have to do the same thing with the registrant information. Some websites employ
privacy shields. But try and you might find someone you can contact and include
in your request for the removal of the pirated work.
So you send the hosts the DMCA notice as well. But
what if they don’t respond?
Some sites do have services that they charge for.
And that's precisely the next place to send a DMCA notice. Anytime a pirate site uses an OSP
(online service provider) to collect fees such as PayPal, that’s the big cheese in this gambit. Inform the pirate you're going after the OSP site that collects their fees in takedown demand.
Remember the Wiki leaks scandal. It was the OSP collecting donations that was effectively shut down. Wiki was crippled by Hillary Clinton’s team’s ability to go after the OSP collecting the money.
Remember the Wiki leaks scandal. It was the OSP collecting donations that was effectively shut down. Wiki was crippled by Hillary Clinton’s team’s ability to go after the OSP collecting the money.
Now finally, you’ll need more resources, so here’s a
nugget of goodness. I found a complete mind-blowing website that deals with
piracy if you don’t have the time or energy. Now take heed, they do charge. TAKE DOWN PIRACY. I’m not affiliated
with them. It was their blog posts that caught my eye. Oh man, not only a
resource but a place you can report piracy. They’ve got so many resources and
they walk you through sending DMCA notices til you could begin to educate
others in the process. I love their blip: This isn’t a job. It’s a mission. http://takedownpiracy.com/
Another watchdog site is Torrent Freak: http://torrentfreak.com/book-pirates-hijack-domain-name-of-anti-piracy-campaign-130322/
So that’s what I’ve got to say on piracy. It stinks.
Big time. I found that once pirated I’d been a victim twice in having my book
stolen and then my time. Some writers said, forget about it. I couldn’t. Not
without at least a couple of attempts to right a wrong. Yeah, I didn’t win the
battle, but at least I could deal with the fact that I’d asked not only for my
work but that of other authors from the same publisher be removed. A small
victory but one that provided me with a sense of having done something. Karma:
what you’re born to do. Not a circular mentality some version of the Golden
Rule. However, this act was done for balance. The yoga of writing requires some
form of grounding to go on. I hope you find that place from which to deal with
piracy, regardless of what anyone says to do. What you do must fit with what
you need to achieve. Namaste.