Your Blog Blunders Create That Can Create Huge Liability For Copyright Infringement

Your Blog Blunders That Can Create Huge Liability For Copyright Infringement

By Chip Cooper, ESQ

You’re a Copyright Infringer because of an Infringing Blog Post By Someone Else – And You Didn’t Even Know About It! (That’s Right, You’re Technically Innocent, But Still Liable For Big Bucks!)

The Classic Situation

You’ve got a blog or forum on your website. After all, Google and other search engines love blogs, right?

And your blog or forum permits your website visitors to post comments.

Unknown to you, a person has stolen (copied without permission) an article from another website. This amounts to copyright infringement because the wrongdoer has exercised one of the exclusive rights of a copyright owner (the right to copy the work) without permission.

So far, there’s nothing surprising about this result.

But wait.

The visitor then posts the stolen (infringing) article on your blog or forum. The infringing article is now published on your blog or forum.

Now, it gets really surprising. Guess what… you’re also a copyright infringer!

Even if you have no knowledge!!

So, let’s recap. Even though you have no knowledge of the infringement and you’re technically innocent, you’re still liable as a copyright infringer.

And if the copyright owner can prove that you may have had knowledge, you could be nailed for statutory damages of up to $150,000 per work. Just imagine the pickle you would be in if there were multiple infringing works posted on your blog or forum.

This result may be surprising; however, attorneys understand that copyright infringement is a strict liability offense.

Not so, for the typical Internet marketer or online entrepreneur.

The DMCA Comes To The Rescue With The “Safe Harbor”

To remedy this problem for website operators, Congress passed the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (known as the “DMCA”) back in 1998.

The DMCA provides a so-called “safe harbor” from copyright infringement liability if:

you provide a special DMCA notice in your Terms of Use, and
you file a special DMCA Registration Form with the US Copyright Office.

Tip – Strict compliance with the DMCA rules is required to take advantage of the “safe harbor”.

Is the DMCA “Safe Harbor” Bullet Proof?

I am often asked… is the DMCA “safe harbor” bullet proof. In other words, are you completely safe as a website operator? No worries?

The short answer is… no, the DMCA “safe harbor” provides excellent protection for website operators, but it’s not bullet proof, according to the 2012 case, Viacom v. YouTube.

YouTube’s users, not by YouTube itself. YouTube defended based on its reliance on the DMCA “safe harbor”.

The District Court ruled in favor of YouTube in a motion for summary judgment, with the effect that YouTube was protected from infringement liability by the DMCA. The District Court found that since YouTube had insufficient knowledge of the infringing materials posted on its website, the DMCA “safe harbor” protected YouTube from liability.

The 2nd Circuit noted that there was evidence that YouTube may have had actual knowledge or awareness of infringing activity.

Internal YouTube emails indicated that videos of Bud Light commercials and CNN video clips were believed by YouTube management to be “blatantly illegal”, yet they were left on the YouTube site for a while in order to gain publicity for YouTube.

Based on this and similar evidence of YouTube’s actual knowledge or awareness of infringing activity, the 2nd Circuit held that a jury could find that YouTube was disqualified from the protections of the DMCA “safe harbor”.

As a result, the YouTube case was remanded back to the District Court to determine if there was sufficient evidence for a jury “to conclude that YouTube had the right and ability to control the infringing activity and received a financial benefit directly attributable to that activity.”

Tip – The DMCA “safe harbor” is not bullet proof. You need to be sure that you don’t have actual knowledge or awareness of infringing activity in order to take advantage of the “safe harbor”.

Here’s How To Make Sure You, Your Business & Website Is FTC Compliant

By now it should be clear how important it is for you to be FTC compliant. But how can you do that without spending $7,500-$8,000 or more on Internet Attorneys?

Smart business owners around the world are doing it with the help ofFTC Guardian.

FTC Guardian is a service that is 100% focused on helping to keep you get and stay FTC compliant and fully protected. And right now, we are offering a free training to give you the knowledge, information, and guidance that you need to stay out of trouble with the Federal Trade Commission.

The training is titled: 3 Tragic (Legal) Privacy Policy List Building Mistakes That Can Get You In Hot Water With The FTC Today – Resulting In Your Business Being Shut Down… And How To Solve It!

Here are some of the things you’ll discover on the training:

Real-Life Examples of People Who Didn’t Think They Were At Risk, But Who Got Nailed By The FTC, And Why It Could Happen To You, Too

The 3 Enormous Powers The FTC Has That Can Change Your Life – And Your Family’s Life – Forever!

How to Avoid FTC Claims When Collecting Leads With Optin Forms

3 Privacy Policy Mistakes Every Digital Marketer Is Making, And Why You’re In The FTC Crosshairs.

And Much More…

Remember: legal protection is a massively important part of your business, and it’s one you cannot afford to ignore any longer.

Go here to register for our next FREE training and make your business is FTC compliant today!

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It’s not legal advice, and no attorney-client relationship is created. Neither the author nor FTC Guardian, Inc. is endorsed by the Federal Trade Commission.