DMCA takedown services - an increasing need to protect our products

28 replies
There's a big need for DMCA takedown notice services (that are inexpensive, unlike the ones out there that charge per-incident), to manually file DMCA@(filesharingsite) to protect our content.

I've manually sent hundreds per year myself, which is getting to be a nuisance, like whack-a-mole. Why should people buy your stuff when they can google it and see a ton of instant download links from a lot of filesharing sites? It's become a big issue. It's killing adult sites, and they're a precursor for trends in information marketing; eg for sales for those of us in non-adult niche traditional niches as well.

One colleague I know said he hires a part time paralegal (he has a big online business that sells dvd systems for his niche, which are pirated a lot).

Every week, I set aside an hour or so to search out (or respond to automated google alerts searches), to send out dmca@(sites) notices to takedown copies of my dvds and premium online videos.

It's a waste of time, but absolutely necessary to make it hard to find my content. So many people in my industry (trading) seem to stick their heads in the sand when I ask them what they do, then complain about low sales.

And NO it's not a valid argument, imo, that "well the people who downloaded from filesharing sites wouldn't have bought from you anyways"... while it's true that there are a lot of people who wouldn't pay, there's ALSO a lot of "people who would've paid, but after googling and searching the pirate info-forums/blogs, just downloaded it for free anyways". That's the issue.

What about you? Google your product you've created with the name of any of the filesharing sites and you'll likely see some links. It would be nice to get this taken care of /outsource it. What I'm thinking I'll do in 2012 is outsource that to someplace or hire a temp service to do this, as an hour a week is a lot of time to me, to spend on this bs. Existing services are far too expensive, from what I've seen, when googling 'dmca takedown notices'. Any ideas?
#dmca #increasing #products #protect #services #takedown
  • Profile picture of the author tpw
    Originally Posted by kencalhn View Post

    Existing services are far too expensive, from what I've seen, when googling 'dmca takedown notices'. Any ideas?

    Create an inexpensive DMCA Takedown Notice program, and advertise it.

    I know a lot of people who would subscribe.

    And most of it can be automated, if you invest the resources to do so.
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    Publish Coloring Books for Profit (WSOTD 7-30-2015)
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    • Profile picture of the author kencalhn
      agree it's an unserved niche, probably good business idea for someone to launch/copy existing "dmca takedown notice" services... but it would have to be priced less than $100 a month, to send DMCAs to dozens of sites for hundreds of listings, which may be hard to automate/manage.

      Personally I'll probably just outsource to people in other countries who can do it for me, for a few bucks an hour, maybe 10-20 hours a month of workload. That's what a business should do too if they launch a dmca takedown service, and/or automate it... agree.

      Alternate is my business model in which I sell dvds, but it also includes a few months of ongoing coaching via live webinars, which are harder to copy; positioning the online coaching as the main value of the system they buy. That's a very smart strategic move, feel free everyone to test it.
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  • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
    Banned
    I bought this dynamite WSO

    http://www.warriorforum.com/warrior-...aaaaazzzy.html

    Works like crazy. Great product.
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    • Profile picture of the author kencalhn
      hey thanks, I just bought that/professional version, will check out it... anything to save time for this onerous task is a plus. i take action fast (also on a side note, Suzanne your avatar for years here on wf has been the most unique one I've seen lol, very memorable)

      and anyone else, if any ideas on DMCA takedowns/the whole issue, would be good to hear..?
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      • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
        Banned
        Originally Posted by kencalhn View Post

        hey thanks, I just bought that/professional version, will check out it... anything to save time for this onerous task is a plus. i take action fast (also on a side note, Suzanne your avatar for years here on wf has been the most unique one I've seen lol, very memorable)

        and anyone else, if any ideas on DMCA takedowns/the whole issue, would be good to hear..?
        You won't be sorry. Once you set up all the services (filesharing sites, etc.) it's just a click to send a DMCA. I've lost track of all the successful DMCAs I've sent with it.
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    • Profile picture of the author MP80
      Hi Suzanne,

      I noticed you are around at the moment - just wondering if you (or anyone else) are able to answer a few quick questions re DMCA.

      I was on the Hubpages forum recently, where hubbbers were discussing the system of being automatically notified when people use/steal their content. They were asking staff if, since they were able to identify copyright infringements, why Hubpages couldn't also file the DMCA (I know - some people want everything handed to them, right? :rolleyes. Hubpages staff responded that legally, they were unable to send a DMCA on anyone's behalf, as it must come directly from the content owner.

      Surely that cannot be correct?

      I mean, there are organisations worldwide providing this kind of service. In my mind the true reason has to be the practicalities (and expense) of finding out who the rightful owner is, getting them to sign legal declarations, not to mention tracking down blog owners, etc, etc

      But it got me thinking about what legal ramifications may exist when providing a DMCA takedown service... Is anyone here aware of any?

      For instance:

      - Do we need to positively identify the rightful owner of the content? If so, and due to the anonymous nature of the internet, how exactly could we go about that?
      - What consequences can result if someone tries to get content removed that does not belong to them?
      - If problems arise, could there be any repercussions for the DMCA takedown service provider? Or would everything rest squarely on the shoulders of the person providing the statement?
      - Who deals with the problem if a dispute is raised?

      Apologies for the legal nature of the questions, but this is a service I have been looking into providing, and naturally I would seek professional legal advice before I did so. I fully understand that this thread is a discussion only and does not constitute legal advice!

      Also thought the above might add to the discussion and help others.

      Originally Posted by sbucciarel View Post

      I bought this dynamite WSO...
      ...Works like crazy. Great product.
      Originally Posted by sbucciarel View Post

      You won't be sorry. Once you set up all the services (filesharing sites, etc.) it's just a click to send a DMCA. I've lost track of all the successful DMCAs I've sent with it.
      Thanks I had my eye on that one, so I appreciate the feedback on it. I have SuperWarriors previous WSO which is also good stuff, and what put me onto the idea in the first place.
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      • Profile picture of the author onSubie
        Originally Posted by Terry Gorry View Post

        When I saw a "senior warrior" recently claiming to have a 99% success rate sending out DMCA notices I had to laugh:rolleyes:

        Terry
        That's all well and good, just make sure you know what jurisdiction the servers you are using are sitting in.

        For example. if all your sites are on Hostagor, you ignore the notice so HG takes down all your sites and locks your data, what do you do?

        Mahlon
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  • Profile picture of the author tpw
    I won't personally build such a service, but I will tell how to do it.

    Additionally, I would not pay more than $40/month for such a service. :p

    How to:

    Each file sharing site has a basic template on how they want the Takedown Notice to be sent to them.

    Locate all of the file sharing sites, and build a template for each one, according to what they want in the Takedown Notice.

    The Takedown Notice service provider should document this information for each product under protection.

    The key piece of information gathered for each protected product is the file download name.

    If you know the file download name, you can query all of the file sharing sites on a regular basis... I would probably do it every 4-6 hours.

    Once the stolen file is located, then the software would record that data, construct the email based on what is in the stored records for that product, then send the Takedown Notice to the relevant file sharing site.

    Once the information is gathered on the product that is being protected, the system should be able to run on auto-pilot, with the only hands-on processing being to re-confirm the Takedown Notice format, and to do occasional checks to see if the File Sharing site spider is working effectively.

    One would occasionally need to check also to see if there are new file sharing sites that need to be added to the system.

    Product titles and sales page URLs can also be tracked by the system to see if any BH sites are sharing URLs on those products. This also would be automated by using spidering software.
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    Bill Platt, Oklahoma USA, PlattPublishing.com
    Publish Coloring Books for Profit (WSOTD 7-30-2015)
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  • Profile picture of the author Brandon Tanner
    Originally Posted by kencalhn View Post

    Existing services are far too expensive, from what I've seen, when googling 'dmca takedown notices'. Any ideas?
    You got that right. I've been doing some research into this as well recently, and most of the services seem to be priced at $50 to $100+ per "incident". From what I can tell... all they're doing is sending an email or letter to the offending website, right??

    I think there is a big opportunity here for a smart entrepreneur. I think someone could charge waaaaaaaay less than $50 per incident, and still make a killing doing this.
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  • Profile picture of the author cringwall
    There are hundreds of Joe Average customers who, when they decide they want your product – they check illicit forums and file sharing sites first- but would just as soon buy your product if they can’t find a free copy. Those are the sales you are losing.
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    Currently in research mode, any and all thoughtful replies are appreciated!

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    • Profile picture of the author Looking4Mentor
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  • Profile picture of the author JeanneLynn
    Is your only option to send a DMCA notice to the website or host? There is a site called AlltheWikiNews that steals my content and they never take it down. Plus it appears that they host their own website.

    I'd definitely be interested in buying something like this.
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    • Profile picture of the author MP80
      Originally Posted by JeanneLynn View Post

      Is your only option to send a DMCA notice to the website or host? There is a site called AlltheWikiNews that steals my content and they never take it down. Plus it appears that they host their own website...
      Hi Jeanne,

      You can also report it to Google, to get their site de-indexed I believe.

      Where are they copying it from? If it is an Article Directory, such as EzineArticles for example, then they are allowed to use it - just so long as they include all links and don't change it. Thought it may be worth mentioning, since not everyone is aware of that.
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      • Profile picture of the author JeanneLynn
        Originally Posted by MP80 View Post

        Hi Jeanne,

        You can also report it to Google, to get their site de-indexed I believe.

        Where are they copying it from? If it is an Article Directory such as EzineArticles for example, then they are allowed to use it, just so long as they don't change it. Thought it may be worth mentioning, since not everyone is aware of that.
        They've taken it directly from my blog. I haven't submitted anything to article directories yet. But that's good to know for the future.
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        • Profile picture of the author kencalhn
          it would be great if some well thought out SOPA type law were passed, and implemented the right way, eg just going solely after the filesharing sites and forums, to target those in a very narrow way that exclusively takes the pirates offline. i haven't read up on the proposed SOPA but from what I have been able to see, it's written in a way that may have too-broad impact, which is why some are objecting.

          A narrower SOPA type law that specifically goes after pirate forums to take them down worldwide, and filesharing sites which are mostly used for pirating, would be great to shut down permanently.

          re DMCA that software looks great because it helps somewhat automate a tedious chore; will try it out in January

          I had google de-index a pirate link, had to send in a fax, though after that first fax they gave me email directions for deindexing future submissions; they put a 'chillingeffect.org' notice on pages w/deindexed results; that's another really good way to handle it; I'll do more of that next year too
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  • Profile picture of the author HeySal
    What I'd like to see is sharers get charged for each copy they give away. Why should we go broke because someone else is evil? The problem has gotten far enough out of hand that I'm actually considering going back to hard copy instead of e-products.
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  • Profile picture of the author Dennisknows
    They say to catch a thief, you have to think like one.

    There is one way that i've seen that prevents distribution very well. For themes and plugins, a certain theme I use, when you buy it, makes you register your domain (every domain) on their site and once you install it to your blog, you have insert a specific license key that is only available to the purchaser, to activate the theme or plugin.

    On the video content, I suggest using a video player that allows you to upload your videos to your own server and then any time of sharing prevention and only allowing those videos to be played on your domain. I upload all my videos to my own server besides the ones I want on youtube.

    My video product I'm coming out with soon is locked up in a membership site and videos can only be played on my domain.

    THe only way as far as I know, to get around this is to use programs like camtasia and screenflow to record the screen. I've done this to record webinars so it's not that hard.

    I suggest adding a water mark in either corner of your video so if they do copy it, it will either show your watermark or they'll have to cut some of the screen out which will take away from the quality.

    I'm sure there are ways to get around the theme security method but I don't know of it.

    I don't know much about the DMCA but I've heard of people using them. Maybe as I get bigger in the blogging world, i'll have to use them (or it).

    I hope this helps someone and have a bless and safe new year
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  • Profile picture of the author Matt Banks
    You can also approach google and have them take the results out of the SERPs. I know someone who has done that.
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  • Profile picture of the author godinu
    There is a lot more to it than just sending out the DMCA takedown notice. A lot of people ignore said notices, or never get them in the first place because they use fake information. Then you have to find other ways to get the copyrighted materials offline, which requires research, followup letters and sometimes lawyers. Doing this sort of work is tedious and grueling. I used to do it for A-list entertainers and the going rate for the work is more like $500-700/day. This is the rate that professional services charge, but many of them charge by the month.
    Once in a while, you will actually get lucky and someone will take down the material after just one notice. But they often file countercomplaints to tie things up or it will require some degree of espionage on your part to track down the offending parties. Basically, you get what you pay for on these services, and even if policing the net yourself, yes, your time is your money. There is no way to completely stop piracy, much as many many entities have tried.
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  • Profile picture of the author GarrieWilson
    Accordingly if I got such a notice I would simply ignore it and advise my clients outside the States to do likewise.
    That's ok. Doesn't mean they can't be sued and jailed. Costly? Sure but many attorneys in the US will do it and only charge after the win.

    Of course it's bad advice from a litigator from a Berne Convention or UCC country.

    Personally, I would send a DMCA notice to the upstream provider on the US side and let them cut off your clients hosting company. I've had a complaint from an upstream provider for a different issue and it was a PITA.

    Garrie
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  • Profile picture of the author solarwarrior
    it will be better to take preventive measures like giving bonuses and retaining customer loyalty to ensure long term profitability. I have seen seriously great marketers who has great products that really works and they hardly ever get pirated...
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  • Profile picture of the author aravan
    Well, you can use DMCA generator DMCA Notice Generator and Sender
    which will send the DMCA address to your email directly. Then you can forward to Site/ISP/Registrar if you wish. Its free to use. Captcha required.

    www.dmca.com is expensive to do this. They ask for more than 100 USD per takedown. you bankrupt yourself by paying to lawyer. No free service offered here.

    www.takedown.cc prepares and send the mails to target sites. Its free.
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  • Profile picture of the author CyberAlien
    I honestly wouldn't even waste time with sending DMCA's unless it's for a product that's at least $300+. At the end of the day, you're fighting a battle that you won't win. Sure, you can search Google for references to your products, but have to realize that gets only a small percentage of where it's actually shared. If you look at the private blackhat sites and torrent networks that you normally pay to be a member of, their links never go down because the files are all hosted within the community.
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  • Profile picture of the author cqjb
    If anyone provides this service of removing DMCA, let me know, I am a music producer with some very big labels and the free sharing of files is getting very annoying.
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    • Profile picture of the author Karen Blundell
      omg - theft happens everywhere - but the more we moan and groan, the next thing that happens is the government steps in and passes some new law disguised to help us with online security - but it will be just another way for us to lose more of our privacy and our personal freedoms - but lets not go there!

      people have no common sense anymore - don't tell people on a public forum what you do to protect your sites or your products - the more you discuss it the more a target is on your back - trust me on this -
      don't discuss what security measures you have in place - been there and done it and suffered for it.

      Also - these thefts - your stuff pirated? what if you looked at them as loss leaders - unless you have deep pockets to hire someone to go after everyone who steals your stuff?
      Another way to look at it is: having your stuff stolen and put on torrents is another way to market your brand - talk about passive viral marketing! Make sure the stuff you sell has links back to your money sites - because the downloader - the guy who may have downloaded your stolen ebook from a torrent site might just be a future customer.

      please don`t think I condone theft - I do not - I just think that unless you have the resources to go after every single person who steals from you - forget about it. Time is money.

      warriors, always remember that the odds are in favour of the good - there are many more good people in this world than there are bad - the media would have us think differently, though, don't you agree?

      I don't worry about the bad guys 'cause the good guys outnumber 'em 10 to 1 at least!

      peace out
      :p
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      • Profile picture of the author confessionsofa
        I had a DMCA complaint filed against me in May 2013 and I have recently taken down the old website and got a new one with the same website address but legit content. Will Google restore my website anytime soon or will I need to wait a while?

        Ps. I wasn't aware of copyright rules then but I've definitely learned from it and will never use other people's content without permission!
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  • Profile picture of the author confessionsofa
    I had a DMCA complaint filed against me in May 2013 and I have recently taken down the old website and got a new one with the same website address but legit content. Will Google restore my website anytime soon or will I need to wait a while?

    Ps. I wasn't aware of copyright rules then but I've definitely learned from it and will never use other people's content without permission!
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