DMCA our policy right now
This is an informal and simplified description of our understanding of how the DMCA works. This page is not legal advice, (see a lawyer for that). This page is not a promise to act in a certain way.
- Somebody sees their copyrighted material on your website
- That somebody sends us a take-down notice
- We remove access to the alleged copyright material
- You (maybe) file a counter-claim (see form below)
- We restore access
- The alleged copyright holder (maybe) sues you
- The court (maybe) instructs us to act
At least according to the IANALs (I am not a lawyer), on slashdot, if we follow the rules, we aren't legally liable for content that you choose to leave up while you are being sued.
Again, we're not promising to act in certain way. We've hosted content since 2002 and we've never gotten a DMCA take-down notice. We reserve the right to act like gutless weasels if threatened by a pack of rabid lawyers.
Formal, Legal Digital Millennium Copyright Act resources
**All information in the following sections was adapted from Central Missouri State University's DMCA web site.**
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 amended U.S. copyright law to limit liability for an infrastructure provider (or "service provider") for information residing, at direction of a user, on a system or network that the service provider controls.
The Community Software Lab, in providing computers, storage, or network connection, is a service provider. A non profit agency, employee, or volunteer is a user.
Copyright Essentials What is a copyright? How does it relate to the Internet and web service providers?
Our DMCA agent Contact information for the DMCA agent for the Community Software Lab.
How to Claim Copyright Infringement legal information and a .pdf file to use in cases of copyright infringement claims.
How to Report a Counter-Claim of Copyright Infringement legal information and the appropriate .pdf form used to counter a claim of infringement.