7 replies to this topic

[santa]

Hi All

Need some advice please on filing a DMCA with the search engines.

A competitor of mine has created a dummy site, then has taken content from my site and pasted it on to theirs. Its amusing as they haven't even changed a word of it.

I'm going to file a DMCA but my question is how would, say Google know that my content was there first?

Any help and advice would really be appreciated.

[Jill]

I think it will all be clear once you fill out the report. It probably asks for proof. (I've never done one, so I'm not exactly sure.)

[Michael Martinez]

I haven't filed a DMCA for search results either but in other DMCAs the law requires that the ISP contact the accused infringer and give them an opportunity to respond. I can imagine how difficult this might be for Google and Bing (suppose the site is a free hosted account, for example).

I think they have to follow a process that gives accused infringers an opportunity to respond, even if the process isn't perfect. But if you can show through cache dates and other secondary indicators that the content is yours you should be okay.

Just don't get frustrated if they throw up roadblocks. The DMCA is a terrible law that should never have been passed but we have to live with its limitations.

[santa]

I haven't filed a DMCA for search results either but in other DMCAs the law requires that the ISP contact the accused infringer and give them an opportunity to respond. I can imagine how difficult this might be for Google and Bing (suppose the site is a free hosted account, for example).

I think they have to follow a process that gives accused infringers an opportunity to respond, even if the process isn't perfect. But if you can show through cache dates and other secondary indicators that the content is yours you should be okay.

Just don't get frustrated if they throw up roadblocks. The DMCA is a terrible law that should never have been passed but we have to live with its limitations.

Thanks for the hlp on this. How can i show through cache dates and secondary indicators the content is originally ours? I'm a bit new to this side of things.

[Michael Martinez]

You just need to show that your version of the content is older than theirs. Of course, cache dates change. If you allow your site to be crawled by the Internet Archive (waybackmachine.org) then maybe that will substantiate your claims.

[santa]

You just need to show that your version of the content is older than theirs. Of course, cache dates change. If you allow your site to be crawled by the Internet Archive (waybackmachine.org) then maybe that will substantiate your claims.

coming to think of it wouldn't google know which one was created first from its cache records?

[Michael Martinez]

Like I said, I have never filed a DMCA for search results. You'll probably get the best guidance from their instructions. You may have to go back and forth with Google a little bit but they've come a long way since I had to file a DMCA with them in 2005.

[Mikl]

I've been doing this myself recently, with good results.

There are two separate issues here. First, Google has a submission form (at www.google.com/webmasters/tools/dmca-notice?pli=1&) that you can use to request the offending page be removed from Google's search results. That form doesn't ask you to state the date on which the original work was published. I think we can assume Google already know that.

Alternatively, you can send a DCMA request directly to the site (or, failing that, the hosting company) with the aim of having the page completely removed (not just removed from search results). In that case, you basically just need to state that you are the owner of the original work (or are acting on the owner's behalf), that you (or the owner) published the work first, and that you did not authorise the reproducing of the work. You make that statement "under penalty of perjury".

So far, I've done this about a dozen times, and haven't yet been asked to prove the original publication date.