DMCA Violation - finland-international.dk -- Chilling Effects Clearinghouse

Recipient Information:
[Private]
b-one.nu
Esromgade 15, opg
DK-2200 K
Denmark

This letter is to notify you, pursuant to the provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, that we believe one of your customers is infringing gameraid.net's and loaguild.com's, a division of Video Game Files Network, Inc. ("V.G.F. NET"), copyrighted materials. Specifically, gameraid.net and loaguild.com is the owner of the copyright and trademarked materials.

The following site hosts and is distributing webpages and content created by us that violates V.G.F. NET's copyrights and trademarks:
http://finland-international.dk

The aforementioned site either hosts or distributes our webpages without authorization, which illegally modifies and/or alters V.G.F. NET copyrighted materials, thereby infringing upon V.G.F. NET's copyrights and trademarks.

I have a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by V.G.F. NET's, its agents or the law, and that the information in this notice is accurate. I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States of America that I am authorized to act on behalf of all of the aforementioned entities.

Sample of infringing webpages:
finland-international.dk/aimbots-counter-strike.htm - 30k
finland-international.dk/ counter-retail-strike-update.htm - 31k
finland-international.dk/counter-strike-console.htm - 30k
finland-international.dk/16-cs-download.htm - 25k
finland-international.dk/ counter-de-download-mapas-strike.htm - 30k
finland-international.dk/cs-model.htm - 24k
finland-international.dk/cs-skin.htm - 25k
finland-international.dk/cs-logo-spray.htm - 25k
finland-international.dk/gaming-zone.htm - 23k
finland-international.dk/cs-download-steam.htm - 24k
finland-international.dk/ counter-strike-waypoints.htm - 31k
finland-international.dk/counter-steam-strike.htm - 30k
finland-international.dk/box-counter-strike-x.htm - 30k
finland-international.dk/cs-steam.htm - 25k
finland-international.dk/counter-strike-tip-trick.htm - 30k
finland-international.dk/counter-de-mapas-strike.htm - 30k
finland-international.dk/counter-strike-clan.htm - 31k
finland-international.dk/counter-strike-wallhack.htm - 31k
finland-international.dk/boston-cs-first.htm - 24k
finland-international.dk/ cs-download-map-waypoints.htm - 24k
finland-international.dk/15-aim-bot-counter-strike.htm - 31k
finland-international.dk/counter-sound-strike.htm - 30k
finland-international.dk/counter-picture-strike.htm - 30k
finland-international.dk/counter-strike-skin.htm - 30k
finland-international.dk/online-gaming.htm - 23k
finland-international.dk/cs-pack-skin.htm - 25k
finland-international.dk/aimbot-cs-download.htm - 25k
finland-international.dk/claves-counter-strike.htm - 30k
finland-international.dk/pc-gaming.htm - 23k
finland-international.dk/15-counter-download-strike.htm - 31k
finland-international.dk/ counter-creator-logo-strike.htm - 31k
finland-international.dk/hjc-cs-air-komplex-helmet.htm - 25k
finland-international.dk/ counter-download-free-strike.htm - 31k
finland-international.dk/cs-cz.htm - 25k
finland-international.dk/counter-strike-tip.htm - 31k
finland-international.dk/16-counter-download-strike.htm - 30k
finland-international.dk/cs-ogc.htm - 25k
finland-international.dk/bots-counter-pod-strike.htm - 30k
finland-international.dk/cs-steaminstall.htm - 25k
finland-international.dk/cs-de-de-descarga-mapas.htm - 24k
finland-international.dk/cs-bot.htm - 24k
finland-international.dk/counter-strike-aimbot.htm - 29k
finland-international.dk/counter-serial-strike.htm - 31k
finland-international.dk/buy-cs-script.htm - 26k
finland-international.dk/diamond-4-cs.htm - 25k
finland-international.dk/counter-strike-command.htm - 30k
finland-international.dk/counter-para-strike-trucos.htm - 29k
finland-international.dk/counter-strike-clans.htm - 30k
finland-international.dk/counter-mapas-strike.htm - 31k
finland-international.dk/counter-downloads-strike.htm - 31k
finland-international.dk/16-buy-cs-script.htm - 25k
finland-international.dk/counter-strike-server.htm - 30k
finland-international.dk/cs-downloads-map.htm - 24k
finland-international.dk/bind-counter-strike.htm - 31k
finland-international.dk/counter-strike-spray-logo.htm - 31k
finland-international.dk/counter-movie-strike.htm - 30k
finland-international.dk/ international-gaming-technology.htm - 24k
finland-international.dk/electronic-gaming.htm - 23k
finland-international.dk/ 16-counter-steam-strike.htm - 31k
finland-international.dk/laptop-gaming.htm - 22k
finland-international.dk/cs-12-format-helmet.htm - 25k
finland-international.dk/gaming-news.htm - 23k
finland-international.dk/finland-international.html - 82k
finland-international.dk/ cs-mcafee-mcafeedigitalrivercom.htm - 25k
finland-international.dk/gaming-software.htm - 23k
finland-international.dk/ multiplayer-online-gaming.htm - 23k
finland-international.dk/internet-gaming.htm - 23k
finland-international.dk/ computer-gaming-monthly.htm - 23k
finland-international.dk/gaming-web-site.htm - 23k
finland-international.dk/ custom-built-gaming-computer.htm - 23k
finland-international.dk/best-gaming-computer.htm - 23k
finland-international.dk/gaming-notebook.htm - 22k
finland-international.dk/gaming-online.htm - 23k
finland-international.dk/gaming-pcs.htm - 22k
finland-international.dk/msn-gaming-zone-bridge.htm - 22k
finland-international.dk/computer-gaming-world.htm - 23k
finland-international.dk/network-gaming.htm - 22k
finland-international.dk/gaming-forum.htm - 23k
finland-international.dk/computer-gaming.htm - 24k
finland-international.dk/internet-gaming-zone.htm - 23k
finland-international.dk/gaming-zome.htm - 24k
finland-international.dk/online-gaming-site.htm - 23k
finland-international.dk/international-map.htm - 17k
finland-international.dk/gaming-club.htm - 23k
finland-international.dk/gaming-server.htm - 23k
finland-international.dk/gaming-machine.htm - 22k
finland-international.dk/interactive-gaming.htm - 23k
finland-international.dk/counter-strike-cheat.htm - 31k
finland-international.dk/cheat-code-counter-strike.htm - 30k
finland-international.dk/cheat-counter-ogc-strike.htm - 29k
finland-international.dk/gaming-cheat.htm - 23k
finland-international.dk/ cd-counter-generator-key-strike.htm - 31k
finland-international.dk/counter-strike-half-life.htm - 31k
finland-international.dk/counter-strike-wallpaper.htm - 30k
finland-international.dk/counter-strike-update.htm - 30k
finland-international.dk/ counter-descargar-gratis-strike.htm - 31k
finland-international.dk/ condition-counter-download-strike-zero.htm - 30k
finland-international.dk/ counter-generator-key-strike.htm - 31k
finland-international.dk/counter-fusion-pack-strike.htm - 30k
finland-international.dk/15-counter-strike.htm - 30k
finland-international.dk/ 3-counter-mod-strike-warcraft.htm - 31k
finland-international.dk/cheap-counter-strike.htm - 30k
finland-international.dk/16-cs-patch.htm - 25k
finland-international.dk/counter-strike-weapon.htm - 30k
finland-international.dk/ counter-download-steam-strike.htm - 31k
finland-international.dk/ counter-downloads-map-strike.htm - 31k
finland-international.dk/16-cs-script.htm - 25k
finland-international.dk/ counter-download-ogc-strike.htm - 30k
finland-international.dk/cs-download.htm - 25k
finland-international.dk/16-bots-cs.htm - 25k
finland-international.dk/cs-podbot.htm - 25k
finland-international.dk/cs-server.htm - 25k
finland-international.dk/counter-cs-skin-strike.htm - 24k
finland-international.dk/cd-cs-generator-key.htm - 24k
finland-international.dk/cs-v16.htm - 25k
finland-international.dk/cs-movie.htm - 24k
finland-international.dk/bot-cs-pod.htm - 25k
finland-international.dk/update-for-cs.htm - 25k
finland-international.dk/bots-cs.htm - 25k
finland-international.dk/16-cs-update.htm - 24k
finland-international.dk/cs-download-skin.htm - 25k
finland-international.dk/counter-cs-map-strike.htm - 25k
finland-international.dk/cs-spray.htm - 24k
finland-international.dk/15-cs.htm - 25k
finland-international.dk/cs-gun.htm - 25k
finland-international.dk/coop-cs.htm - 24k
finland-international.dk/16-cs-skin.htm - 25k
finland-international.dk/cs-lewis.htm - 25k
finland-international.dk/turku-finland.htm - 15k
finland-international.dk/international.htm - 16k
finland-international.dk/index2/rpg/sims/

Domain: finland-international.dk
DNS: finland-international.dk
Registered: 2003-10-07

Registrant
Handle: AB15667-DK
Name: Alexander Boustedt
Address: bergkristallsgatan 30
Postalcode: 426 51
City: G

FAQ: Questions and Answers

[back to notice text]

Question: What is the Digital Millennium Copyright Act?

Answer: The DMCA, as it is known, has a number of different parts. One part is the anticircumvention provisions, which make it illegal to "circumvent" a technological measure protecting access to or copying of a copyrighted work (see Anticircumvention (DMCA)). Another part gives web hosts and Internet service providers a "safe harbor" from copyright infringement claims if they implement certain notice and takedown procedures (see DMCA Safe Harbor).

[back to notice text]

Question: What kinds of things are copyrightable?

Answer: In order for material to be copyrightable, it must be original and must be in a fixed medium.

Only material that originated with the author can support a copyright. Items from the public domain which appear in a work, as well as work borrowed from others, cannot be the subject of an infringement claim. Also, certain stock material might not be copyrightable, such as footage that indicates a location like the standard shots of San Francisco in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Also exempted are stock characters like the noisy punk rocker who gets the Vulcan death grip in Star Trek IV.

The requirement that works be in a fixed medium leaves out certain forms of expression, most notably choreography and oral performances such as speeches. For instance, if I perform a Klingon death wail in a local park, my performance is not copyrightable. However, if I film the performance, then the film is copyrightable.

Single words and short phrases are generally not protected by copyright, even when the name has been "coined" or newly-created by the mark owner. Logos that include original design elements can be protected under copyright or under trademark. Otherwise, words, phrases and titles may be protected only by trademark, however.

[back to notice text]

Question: What can be protected as a trademark?

Answer: You can protect

names (such as company names, product names)
domain names if they label a product or service
images
symbols
logos
slogans or phrases
colors
product design
product packaging (known as trade dress)

[back to notice text]

Question: What constitutes copyright infringement?

Answer: Subject to certain defenses, it is copyright infringement for someone other than the author to do the following without the author's permission:

1. reproduce (copy) the work;

2. create a new work derived from the original work (for example, by translating the work into a new language, by copying and distorting the image, or by transferring the work into a new medium of expression);

3. sell or give away the work, or a copy of the work, for the first time (but once the author has done so, the right to sell or give away the item is transferred to the new owner. This is known as the "first sale" doctrine: once a copyright owner has sold or given away the work or a copy of it, the recipient or purchaser may do as she pleases with what she posesses.) 17 U.S.C. ?109(a);

4. perform or display the work in public without permission from the copyright owner. 17 U.S.C. ?106. It is also copyright infringement to violate the "moral rights" of an author as defined by 17 U.S.C. 106A. Moral rights are discussed here.

[back to notice text]

Question: What are the notice and takedown procedures for web sites?

Answer: 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.

[back to notice text]

Question: What are the DMCA Safe Harbor Provisions?

Answer: In 1998, Congress passed the On-Line Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act (OCILLA) in an effort to protect service providers on the Internet from liability for the activities of its users. Codified as section 512 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), this new law exempts on-line service providers that meet the criteria set forth in the safe harbor provisions from claims of copyright infringement made against them that result from the conduct of their customers. These safe harbor provisions are designed to shelter service providers from the infringing activities of their customers. If a service provider qualifies for the safe harbor exemption, only the individual infringing customer are liable for monetary damages; the service provider's network through which they engaged in the alleged activities is not liable.

[back to notice text]

Question: What is third-party liability, also known as "secondary liability"?

Answer: The concept of third party liability refers, as the name implies, to situations in which responsibility for harm can be placed on a party in addition to the one that actually caused the injury. The most common example comes from tort law: a customer in a grocery store drops a bottle of wine and another customer slips on the puddle and injures himself; he may bring an action for negligence against the customer who dropped the bottle and against the owner of the grocery store. Under the common law doctrine of third-party liability, a plaintiff must show not only that an injury actually occurred, but also (in most cases) that some sort of connection existed between the third party and the person who actually caused the injury.

As such the concept of third-party liability is often divided into two different types: contributory infringement and vicarious liability. Typically, contributory infringement exists when the third party either assists in the commission of the act which causes the injury, or simply induces the primary party to do so commit the act which caused the injury. (See What is contributory infringement?.) Vicarious liability often requires the third party to have exerted some form of control over the primary party

[back to notice text]

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

Answer: 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.

Topic maintained by Stanford Center for Internet & Society