Copyright Claims

If you think we may have incorrectly made a copyright claim on behalf of our clients related to your online posting, please contact us right away as noted below. Experience shows that we’re not wrong about this often – in fact, only about three times in every 10,000 or so claims. In those few cases, however, both we and our copyright-owning clients want to fix things for you as quickly and smoothly as possible.

But before you blast us with email, please read the information below. Doing so can save both you and us a lot of time and possibly a few hassles. Then if you still want to question our claim: GO FOR IT! We welcome your comments. They enable us to track and improve how well we’re doing things. Because, after all, only three in 10,000 is still three too many.

Click on these topics to read each brief section, or just scroll down below:

• First: Relax, This Most Likely is No Big Deal
• Of Course You Didn’t Mean To ...
• Don’t Blame the Website – Legally, They Don’t Have Much Choice
• If You "Bought" the Material, That Probably Doesn’t Change Much
• Copyright Protection – Why It’s So Important
• What’s Covered – Content & Uses
• What Makes Us Think You Used Our Client’s Copyrighted Material
• Responding to a Claim Related to Your Posting
• What to Expect About the Inquiry/Dispute Process

First: Relax, This Most Likely is No Big Deal

In most cases, our claim of a copyright "violation" by your posting on a website means simply two things in practice:

1. that we need to issue a license to the website so they can legally allow you to keep your posting up; and
2. advertising may appear on the web page with your posting, just as it does for most content found on most "free" websites.

(It’s that advertising revenue that enables the website to pay for all of the computers and Internet connections required to provide their service "free" to you and your followers on the site.)

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Of Course You Didn’t Mean To ...

We understand that the vast majority of people who receive a notice of copyright violation did not intend to do anything inappropriate. Typically, they had no idea that what they posted could be a problem. And we are not out to "punish" people.

In fact, most of the "violations" we find are actually paying tribute in some way to the creators of the copyrighted material(s). The music, video, or other copyrighted elements generally are being "borrowed" and used exactly because the person using them in a posting likes the material and wants to share it with others.

Most of the time, that’s a good thing for everybody. But as we describe below, even such "innocent" uses do need to follow a few rules. In fact, user-subscribers to most websites specifically agree to follow such copyright-related and other rules when they accept the Terms and Conditions for using the website in the first place. It’s just that the practical implications of those rules aren’t always obvious.

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If You "Bought" the Material, That Probably Doesn’t Change Much

Yeah, we know. That doesn’t sound right. But it’s true.

Many people think that if they purchase a creative work in a physical form, or even an electronic file containing the creative work – for example: sheet music, music on a CD, a movie on DVD, or a downloaded file containing one of these – they "own" the content and therefore can do anything they want with it.

But if you read the "fine print" related to your "purchase" and/or are familiar with copyright law in the United States and other treaty countries, what you almost always "own" is merely the right to use that item only for your own personal and non-commercial enjoyment – and specifically not the right to make derivative works or reproduce or perform/display that content publicly in any way. Such terms have been the "usual and customary" practice for a very long time now.

To understand why that’s the case – and why, overall, it’s a good thing – keep reading.

But if you did arrange a specific license or other authorization from the owners or their official business representatives to use their copyrighted material(s) in your posting, please skip to the "Responding to a Claim ..." section below.

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Don’t Blame the Website – Legally, They Don’t Have Much Choice

It’s kind of obvious when you think about it. The last thing most websites want to do – especially "social media" websites – is to tell their user-subscribers that they can’t post things. But they are required by law in almost every country to honor all claims of copyright violation unless the "violator" can prove that they are, in fact, authorized to use the materials in question, and to use them in the way(s) that they have been used.

If websites don’t comply with these requirements, they can quickly be exposed to huge legal liabilities. So if you feel the need to "scream" at somebody because the posting you worked so hard on has been called into question, please stick with yelling at us.

On the other hand, we are not trying to tell you that you can’t communicate with the website regarding copyright issues. It’s just that there’s a practical limit on what they can do, and there’s no sense wasting their time, yours, or ours. In the end, your communication (or not) with the website is totally between you and the website, and not for us to decide.

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Copyright Protection – Why It’s So Important to Artists ... And You

Creative artists often sacrifice a lot to create the works we all enjoy so much. It can be a risky and difficult way to make a living, even for the lucky few who ultimately find substantial popular and commercial success. Often, they must rely on the proceeds of a precious few works – from perhaps hundreds they have created – to provide the bulk of their financial resources. Sometimes, money from a single work may have to support them for many years until the next income-producing work comes along.

So it’s understandable that – as much as they might like to see their works used and enjoyed freely by every person on the planet – financial realities require most professional artists and their business partners to get paid somehow for any uses of their work. Without that income, after all, they can’t continue to have the time and freedom required to keep on creating the kinds of works and performances that you find so appealing.

Consider, too, that artists and their business partners often have to spend a lot of money to perform and capture their work so that all of us can have access to it at an affordable price.

It only makes sense to provide reasonable assurances that the owners of such "intellectual property" somehow get paid – directly or indirectly – for each duplication or re-performance/display of their work. (In part, that’s why it’s called copyright.)

Not to do so would be much like allowing someone to design a great new pair of athletic shoes and build a factory that produces millions of them, but then only requiring that they get paid for the first pair produced! It wouldn’t be long before nobody was designing or producing any new shoes.

That is why copyright and other intellectual-property laws have been so thoroughly and widely developed for well more than a hundred years now. In fact, it’s perhaps one of the most internationally consistent areas of law in existence. Everybody wins in the long run when people who create new things can count on getting paid for their efforts if they come up with something other people can benefit from and enjoy.

Keep in mind that – under these laws – it can be necessary for owners of intellectual property to actively assert their rights when their copyrighted works are used without a specific license or other authorization. If they don’t, a court could rule that – in effect – their work has become a part of the "public domain", and that they no longer have any significant rights to those materials.

That’s a big part of what we do in helping our copyright-owning clients protect and create income from their works. In essence, we find and "tag" unauthorized uses on the Web – even when our clients like the way their material(s) have been used. This also provides legal protection to the website, which in turn enables them to provide you an online home for your postings. It also allows our clients to participate in the typically modest advertising revenue (if any) that is associated with views of their work when it is presented in user-generated or directly posted content online.

It’s a little like saying, "Sure, you can use the empty lot next to my house for neighborhood soccer games, but let’s all just remember that I am the one who actually owns the land and pays taxes on it every year. I might even pay to install a water fountain and some stands for your friends to sit and cheer you on. But if the local sporting-goods store wants to pay me a small fee to put up a sign, you need to let me do that without much complaint. If you don’t agree with that, it’s OK. But you might need to find another place to play."

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What’s Covered – Content & Uses

The details of copyright restrictions can sometimes get complex. However, the list below includes the key types of copyrighted content that we most often find reproduced or embedded in some unauthorized way in user-generated postings online.

The following list identifies some of the most common routes or "uses" by which the types of content listed above make their way into an online posting without proper licensing or other authorization.

• A music video, movie, or television program is captured off television or online and posted directly (sound and/or visuals).
• Music from a purchased CD or MP3 download is used as theme or background music for a posting.
• Scene(s) from a rented or purchased DVD or download of a movie are captured and posted directly, or used as audio and/or visuals elements within the poster’s own broader work.
• Audio, video, or both are recorded at a concert or other public performance/appearance and posted directly, or as element(s) within a broader work by the poster.
• Still images are captured from offline files, or from online content posted on various sites, and then reproduced as an element within works posted online by a "downstream" user-subscriber.
• A (semi-)professional or amateur performer or group records and posts their own "cover" or "tribute" performance of a popular song or scene from a movie. (In this case, the copyright violation is often related to the composition rather than any prior performance.)
• A "demo" or "sample" file containing music, video, or a still image is acquired along with a software application, gaming platform, or electronic device. It may be a very famous work, or just "generic-but-cool stuff". A user-subscriber then uses this material as an element in an online posting.
• Fully licensed material is used properly in an online posting. That person then re-uses the material online in a way that was not covered by the license. (For example, music was licensed through an advertising agency for use in a company advertisement. But then it is re-used in an online sales presentation, or someone at the company later uses that same music behind a slide show of their child’s school play that they post online.)

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What Makes Us Think You Used Our Client’s Copyrighted Material

The short answer is: Technical Wizardry. It’s not perfect, but it has been proven accurate and effective in the vast majority of cases. Here’s generally how it works ...

Our clients provide us with digital "reference" versions of their copyrighted works. These reference files are used to create digital "fingerprints" that can be used to quickly and reliably identify any matches between our client’s copyrighted materials and what appears in online postings. Yes, even if you post only a small portion of the original work or modify it substantially, the "fingerprint" will still match up in most cases. (Additional techniques can be used, but we can’t give away all of our secrets.)

Please note that, in effect, the websites that carry these postings are legally required in most cases to allow (or even provide) such scanning/matching programs to assess all content they carry. Again, they don’t have much choice in the matter. It’s a law they must follow, so please don’t blame them if you think this process is not appropriate.

Once a tentative match was made to your posting, this possible "violation" of our client’s "intellectual property" rights was reviewed by at least one real, live, human being who did not find any apparent reason to believe that: 1) the scan/fingerprint system made an invalid match; or 2) the use of the copyrighted material was likely licensed by you for such use; or 3) your use was of such a nature that no formal license/authorization is legally required.

Then, as we are obligated to do on behalf of our clients, we notify the website that carries the posting(s) in question that a copyright claim related to the posting(s) is being made. The website then – as they are legally obligated to do – notifies the user-subscriber who uploaded the posting(s) in question that a copyright claim has been filed "against" the posting.

And that is most likely how you came to receive some form of a "copyright violation" message from the website, which in turn brought you here to read this.

NOTE: Some websites include our email address and/or a link to what you’re reading here in their email notifications. If your message did not include such directions, please accept our special thanks for your extra efforts in tracking us down.

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Responding to a Claim Related to Your Posting

Thanks for reading this far.

PLEASE NOTE: If you formally dispute our claim with the website, their legal obligations and/or internal policies might require that display of the posting(s) in question be blocked until we release our claim or you otherwise prove conclusively and directly with them that our claim is incorrect. Accordingly, you may wish not to formally dispute our claim with the website until you have made an inquiry/dispute with us and received at least our initial response.

We believe that the faster and easier route for all concerned is to go through us first, since we ultimately must communicate directly with you to resolve the situation to the mutual understanding of you, the website, and our copyright-owning client. That choice, however, is yours to make.

If you do have authorization to use our client’s copyrighted material(s) or you still think our claim of copyright "violation" is incorrect, please click here or continue scrolling down to complete and submit a form that helps us resolve the issue as quickly and smoothly as we can. That link also provides information on what to do if you received more than a few copyright-violation notices related to material(s) owned by our clients.

To download an Adobe Acrobat (PDF) version of the online form, click here. You might find it helpful to use this PDF version to identify and collect in advance the information you will need to complete the form online. You also have the options of:

1. filling out the form within the PDF file and then sending it to us as an email attachment; or
2. printing the form, filling it out by hand, and then faxing or mailing the completed form to us.

See the instructions in the PDF document for details on returning the completed document to us.

Please note that, without the information requested, it is almost impossible for us to adequately address the situation. To even discuss your case productively in any way, we need the requested information to do some research on our end first. Accordingly, completing and submitting the form is the only means of initial contact regarding a copyright claim that we provide. See below for what happens then.

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What to Expect About the Process

Once we receive your initial inquiry/dispute as described above, someone on our team will review your response in detail against our records and your posting. Where appropriate, we may review your case with the owner of the copyrighted material(s) involved. During this process, we may contact you by email and/or telephone (if you provide your number) for additional information.

Once a determination is made on our end, we will inform you by email of our position and, if necessary, request further action on your part to resolve the situation.

Please allow at least 15 calendar days for an initial response before you make any follow-up inquiry. We try to respond faster than this, and typically we do. But temporary backlogs sometimes develop (for example, when we add a new client catalog and a wave of new "violations" are found). To be fair to everyone, we generally process inquiries in the order in which they are received. Note, however, that inquiry forms with complete and detailed information typically can be processed faster than other cases.

In most cases, the practical options for resolving a disputed copyright claim are fairly standard. So the initial email response you receive from us typically is a "form letter" – customized to your case in a way that hopefully provides you with a clear and specific understanding of our proposed actions and why we are pursuing those particular options.

We don’t really like this somewhat impersonal approach to our initial communications with you. But as a practical matter, we need to do it this way to respond to you quickly and efficiently.

If you do not accept the resolution we first propose (but most people do), you can use the means described in our initial response to begin further discussions directly with a designated person on our team.

Now, this next point is a little sensitive and it won’t apply to the vast majority of people who contact us. However, experience tells us that, for a few people, it does need to be made explicitly.

We "get it" that this whole situation and the resolution process can be frustrating to you, and our claims-processing staff doesn’t mind if you need to "vent your frustrations a little with us. However, we will not ask our people to tolerate foul, abusive, or threatening language from anyone. If you choose to interact with us in that way, please expect us to pursue protection of our client’s legitimate rights in the most forceful and inflexible manner allowed by law, and with the least further correspondence possible with you.

Please understand that the job of our claims-processing staff is to focus with you only on communications that enable a fair and prompt conclusion of your inquiry/dispute – whether that resolution is to: : 1) release our claim because it was incorrect or otherwise unnecessary; 2) continue our claim and perhaps invoke advertising-related or other rights regarding your posting; or 3) in a few difficult situations, possibly demand removal of a copyright-violating posting from the website.