The Digital Millennium Copyright Act provides for a safe harbor for online service providers from copyright infringement if they put on their website a Digital Millennium Copyright Act agent, a DMC agent that can be notified by copyright owners if they are claiming infringement of a copyrighted work on the website.

The copyright owner then provides notice to this agent. If the website operator, the online service provider expeditiously removes or disables access to the copyrighted material, then that will give the copyright owner an opportunity to take legal action. If this is followed, then the online service provider will be protected from liability for that infringement.

See 17 U.S.C. § 512

 

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