5 Things I’ve Learned Being a DMCA Agent for 100s of Sites

I launched Plagiarism Today nearly 20 years ago. At the time, I was an author who focused on stopping plagiarism and copyright infringement of his work. As such, I already had a great deal of experience filing DMCA takedown notices with various hosts.

So, when I went full-time as a consultant a few years later, DMCA takedowns were a major part of my work. I filed or aided in filing countless takedown notices for hundreds of clients.

However, things changed. Over time, I pivoted toward expert witness work and plagiarism analysis. I found this work far more rewarding, both personally and financially. However, I did maintain some DMCA takedown work and am still doing it today.

But a few years ago, I got an email from a friend who was dealing with a legal threat from a photographer. The friend had not uploaded the image, but a member of his forum had. I asked if he had a DMCA agent; he said he didn’t know he needed one.

I forwarded him to a lawyer but realized there was a greater need for awareness. As part of that, I decided to create a DMCA agent service. Though there have long been other services, I wanted one that was simple and affordable. The goal wasn’t to get rich but to make it so that every site that needed a DMCA agent could have one.

However, it was going to be a learning experience for me. Despite decades on the other side and significant familiarity with the law, I’d only served as a DMCA agent for myself and a handful of friends/family.

Now, hundreds of clients later and many years later, I can give a sample of what I’ve learned.

1: The Vast Majority of Hosts See Zero Notices

Of all the sites I represent, only a few have ever seen notices, and only two or three receive notices regularly.

On one hand, this makes a lot of sense. Most sites are fairly small and unlikely to get much attention. Furthermore, most large-scale DMCA filers target search engines rather than hosts directly.

However, some of the sites are relatively large and still completely quiet. Which sites get notices is usually a matter of content type, not size.

To be clear, none of this is to say that a DMCA agent isn’t needed for other sites. Getting a DMCA agent is a precaution to prevent a lawsuit later on. Even a single notice over a site’s lifetime can be a disaster if the site isn’t prepared.

Still, silence is the most likely outcome of setting up a DMCA agent, regardless of who it is.

2: The Address Requirement Is Pointless

One reason many opt to hire an external agent rather than do it themselves is the requirement to include their address. However, in my experience, that requirement is pointless.

In only five years, exactly one notice has come by postal mail, and none has come via fax. There’s no point in including that information. Email is faster, easier and cheaper than any other alternative.

For many, this is the biggest hurdle in registering a DMCA agent, and it does so little good. If the goal of a DMCA agent and the DMCA agent directory is the expedient filing of notices, this information is, at best, superfluous and, at worst, harmful.

3: So Much Spam

This is easily the most predictable. But our DMCA agent accounts, on average, see far more spam and junk mail than most.

The reason is simple. They’re publicly-available addresses that are easy to scrape and send spam to. Couple that with the fact that I have to review ALL mail sent to these accounts, and the amount of spam I deal with daily has tripled.

Fortunately, it’s still not a huge problem. The time spent on this isn’t excessive. It’s just interesting to note how common it is.

4: Most Hosts Want to Do the Right Thing

When forwarding a compliant notice to a host for removal, I’ve almost never gotten any pushback. The vast majority of hosts have never complained about complying with a completed notice.

While this may be a case of sampling bias, it seems that most hosts want to do the right thing. They don’t want infringing content on their site and aren’t looking to bend or circumvent the rules. They don’t seek excuses not to remove content.

This has even held true in cases where I was contacted about non-copyright issues or sent incomplete notices. I often forward those for awareness, but most hosts also remove that content as well, even if there is no requirement.

5: Many Still Wait Until Too Late

Finally, one of the major changes I’ve had to make to my form emails is to warn that a registration cannot help if you’ve already received a legal threat or a lawsuit.

Though not as common as it once was, it’s still semi-regular that people try to register a DMCA agent AFTER they’ve been threatened. At that point, it is simply too late. While I personally find it obnoxious that a small piece of paperwork can prevent you from being protected under the DMCA, it is the law.

Much like insurance, fire extinguishers and plungers, the best time to appoint a DMCA agent is before you need one. The best day is when the site or project starts, but today is the second-best day.

Bottom Line

To be clear, this isn’t a major part of my business, and I don’t really want it to be. However, I don’t want good webmasters and app developers to face copyright infringement claims just because a user uploaded an infringing work.

While there are bad hosts out there who deliberately ignore copyright issues, there are also good hosts who are targeted for liability over a technicality. I wanted to fill that hole and prevent that from happening as much as I could.

I’ve offered guidance on how to do it yourself for those who couldn’t afford my service or didn’t want it. My goal is to get sites registered, not get rich doing so.

So, if your site hosts content from users, please appoint a DMCA agent. Whether it’s myself, another service or yourself, taking that step can help protect you from liability.

No matter how you do it, please don’t wait until it is too late.