TV Program DMCA (Copyright) Complaint to Google

sender

on behalf of Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc.

[Private] , , , US Sent on March 21, 2012

recipient

Google, Inc.

[Private] Mountain View, CA, 94043, US Received on March 21, 2012

Re: Websearch Infringement Notification via Online Form Complaint

Sent via: online form

Notice Type:: Dmca

Action taken:: Yes

Copyright claim #1

Kind of Work: movie

Description The copyrighted work at issue is the TV series "The Big Bang Theory" which is owned by Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc.
Original URLs:
1. http://www.cbs.com/shows/big_bang_theory/
Allegedly Infringing URLs:
1. http://www.sidereel.com/The_Big_Bang_Theory
2. http://www.filestube.com/t/the%2Bbig%2Bbang%2Btheory%2Bseason%2B4%2Bepisode%2B1
3. http://www.surfthechannel.com/show/456.html
4. http://www.tubeplus.me/movie/1708328/The_Big_Bang_Theory/season_4/episode_1/The_Robotic_Manipulation/%2522

Related FAQs

Do I need to register my copyright?

You get copyright automatically when you create a work and "fix" or record it. Registration with the Copyright Office is not a prerequisite, but it can give you additional protection: you can only get statutory damages for infringement of a registered copyright. A U.S. author must also register before filing a copyright lawsuit.

What is the difference between plagiarism and copyright infringement?

Many people confuse the two, but copyright infringement and plagiarism are different concepts. Plagiarism occurs when a dishonest writer, or some other person, copies another's words or ideas without attributing them to the true author. Black's Law Dictionary 1170 (7th ed.1999). With plagiarism, it does not matter whether the words are copyrighted .

What is "willful copyright infringement"?

Willful infringement occurs when the infringer knows that the material they are copying is protected by copyright. In many cases, the penalties for copyright infringement are greater if the infringement is willful.

May I freely copy from federal government documents?

Yes. Works produced by the US government, or any government agency or person acting in a government capacity, are in the public domain. So are the texts of legal cases and statutes from state or federal government. Private contractors working for the government, however, can license or transfer copyrights to the US government, and those copyrights remain enforceable.

Does filing a counter-notification indicate that you are willing to defend yourself against a claim of copyright infringement?

Filing a counter-notification indicates that the subscriber has a "good faith belief that the material was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification of the material to be removed or disabled." [15 U.S.C. s 512(g)(c)(3)] A counter-notification also requires a statement that the subscriber consents to the jurisdiction in which the address of the subscriber is located. [17 U.S.C. s 512(g)(3)(D)]

Thus, the filing of a counter-notification does not explicitly indicate consent to defend against a claim of copyright infringement; it merely indicates a good faith belief that the challenged material is non-infringing. An individual who believes that a user has infringed or is infringing upon his or her copyright may sue the user for infringement regardless of whether a take-down notice is sent to the service provider. The safe-harbor rules do not affect the right of a lawful copyright holder to sue a user who directly infringes his or her copyright.

Why does a user-generated content site get DMCA takedown notices for links users have posted?

Many copyright claimants are making complaints under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, Section 512(d), a safe-harbor for providers of "information location tools." These safe harbors give providers immunity from liability for users' possible copyright infringement -- if they "expeditiously" remove material when they get complaints. Whether or not the provider would have been liable for infringement by users' materials it links to, the provider can avoid the possibility of a lawsuit for money damages by following the DMCA's takedown procedure when it gets a complaint. The person whose information was removed can file a counter-notification if he or she believes the complaint was erroneous.

What is a copyright notice?

A copyright notice is placed on copies of a work by the owner in order to inform the public that the owner - an individual or business - holds copyright in the work. The public is then "on notice" that the work is copyrighted and unauthorized copying may infringe the copyright owner's rights.

Generally, a proper copyright notice must contain: 1. The symbol ©, the word “Copyright”, or the abbreviation “Copr.” 2. The year of first publication of the work. 3. The name of the copyright owner, a recognizable abbreviation of the copyright owner's name, or a generally known alternative designation of the owner.

The notice must also be placed on copies of a work so that they give reasonable notice of the claim of copyright.

The legal effect of proper copyright notice is to prevent a defendant in a copyright infringement suit to raise a defense based on innocent infringement. Simply, it prevents a defendant from saying "I had no idea that this work was copyrighted and I should not have to pay damages for willful infringement."

The specific notice provisions are set forth in 17 U.S.C. § 401-406.

What is "willful infringement"?

Willful infringement occurs when the infringer knows that the material they are copying is protected by copyright.

In many cases, the penalties for copyright infringement are greater if the infringement is willful.

Does copyright protect words or short phrases?

No. Names, titles, and short phrases are not subject to copyright protection. These are not deemed to be "original works of authorship" under the Copyright Act. Names may be protected by trademark, in some instances. See the  FAQ for more information.

What are the notice and takedown procedures for web sites?

In order to have an allegedly infringing web site removed from a service provider's network, or to have access to an allegedly infringing website disabled, the copyright owner must provide notice to the service provider with the following information:

The name, address, and electronic signature of the complaining party [512(c)(3)(A)(i)]
The infringing materials and their Internet location [512(c)(3)(A)(ii-iii)], or if the service provider is an "information location tool" such as a search engine, the reference or link to the infringing materials [512(d)(3)].
Sufficient information to identify the copyrighted works [512(c)(3)(A)(iv)].
A statement by the owner that it has a good faith belief that there is no legal basis for the use of the materials complained of [512(c)(3)(A)(v)].
A statement of the accuracy of the notice and, under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorized to act on the behalf of the owner [512(c)(3)(A)(vi)].

Once notice is given to the service provider, or in circumstances where the service provider discovers the infringing material itself, it is required to expeditiously remove, or disable access to, the material. The safe harbor provisions do not require the service provider to notify the individual responsible for the allegedly infringing material before it has been removed, but they do require notification after the material is removed.

What is the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works?

The Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, usually known as the Berne Convention, is an international agreement about copyright, which was first adopted in Berne, Switzerland in 1886. It was developed at the instigation of Victor Hugo, and was thus influenced by the French "right of the author" (droit d'auteur), which contrasts with the Anglo-Saxon concept of "copyright", which has only been concerned with economic protection.

Do search engines have to notify sites they index?

[not yet answered]

To qualify for a DMCA Safe Harbor, do ISPs need to respond to notices for takedowns of alleged P2P infringements?

Section 512 provides safe harbor protection for four classes of online service providers. 512(a) covers conduit systems that transmit and route data between users and store copies only as part of that process. 512(b) protects caching systems, which temporarily retain copies for users requesting it from its original source. 512(c) protects storage systems that allow users to store information on their networks, such as a web hosting service or a chat room. Finally, 512(d) covers information location tools such as search engines or directories.

Using typical P2P (peer to peer) file-sharing services, users store files on their computers and send them directly to each other. The users

Does a copyright owner have to specify the exact materials it alleges are infringing?

Proper notice under the safe harbor provisions requires the copyright owners to specifically identify the alleged infringing materials, or if the service provider is an "information location tool" such as a search engine, to specifically identify the links to the alleged infringing materials. [512(c)(3)(iii)], [512(d)(3)]. The provisions also require the copyright owners to identify the copyrighted work, or a representative list of the copyrighted works, that is claimed to be infringed. [512(c)(3)(A)(ii)]. Rather than simply sending a letter to the service provider that claims that infringing material exists on their system, these qualifications ensure that service providers are given a reasonable amount of information to locate the infringing materials and to effectively police their networks. [512(c)(3)(A)(iii)], [512(d)(3)].

However, in the recent case of ALS Scan, Inc. v. Remarq Communities, Inc., the court found that the copyright owner did not have to point out all of the infringing material, but only substantially all of the material. The relaxation of this specificity requirement shifts the burden of identifying the material to the service provider, raising the question of the extent to which a service provider must search through its system. OSP customers should note that this situation might encourage OSP's to err on the side of removing allegedly infringing material.

What is section 512 of the DMCA, and what are its various provisions?

The On-Line Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act (OCILLA), included as section 512 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), was passed in 1998. It provides Internet Service Providers (ISPs), such as providers of DSL and dial-up Internet access, as well as other Online Service Providers (OSPs), such as search engines, with a

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