Myspace Changes DMCA Contact Info

Up until a few weeks ago, Myspace was a solid citizen in the fight against plagiarism. Their resolutions had always been fair, quick and friendly.

That's why it came as a shock to me when a pair of DMCA my notices went strangely ignored. The first, sent on August 14 to the address listed on the U.S. Copyright Office's (USCO) Web site (PDF), went unanswered for over a week and a second, identical notice sent via a contact form on the Myspace site, received no response either.

I investigated things a little bit further and found that, apparently, Myspace has changed some of the contact information for their designated agent, including a new email address. The information can be found buried in their terms and conditions.

I've resent the DMCA notice to the new email address and will see what happens. However, even if it does work, this has lowered my opinion of Myspace in these matters. Not only did they change email addresses without first updating their application with the USCO, but they failed to forward mail sent to the old address to the new one. They also have failed to forward on any information received via other contact means on to their designated agent.

While these are minor grievances, they do call into question the professionalism and the commitment of the mammoth social networking site when it comes to matters of copyright. However, if the new address works well I'll chalk it all up to a less-than-smooth transition. Otherwise, it will raise some very serious concerns.

In the meantime, those with a need to contact Myspace regarding a copyright issue need to take note of the new contact information. Apparently, the old information is no longer valid and will not produce a reply.

tags: Plagiarism, Content+Theft, Copyright+Infringement, DMCA, Myspace, Social+Networking, Xanga, Copyright