Often clients find their trademarked content has been infringed along with their copyright content. DMCA.com can help with both services.
The US Copyright office and US Patent and Trademark office define these separately. It is very easy to confuse copyright infringement with trademark infringement as they are both intellectual properties, but refer to different things.
Has your content been stolen? DMCA.com can help you determine the best approach for your takedown request. To get started, click here to Start Your Takedown
What does Trademark protect and what does Copyright protect?
Trademark defined by the US Patent and Trademark Office:
"A trademark includes any word, name, symbol, or device, or any combination, used, or intended to be used, in commerce to identify and distinguish the goods of one manufacturer or seller from goods manufactured or sold by others, and to indicate the source of the goods. In short, a trademark is a brand name."
Copyright defined by the US Copyright office:
"Protects original works of authorship including literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works such as poetry, novels, movies, songs, computer software and architecture. Copyright does not protect facts, ideas, systems, or methods of operation, although it may protect the way these things are expressed."
To make this a little clearer copyright infringement would be if the text or images from your site have been copied from site www.yoursite.com and placed on www.theirsite.com . A possible example of trademark infringement would be the name of www.yoursite.com has been taken and manipulated to www.your-site.com although they may embody the same concept but none of the actual content of your site has been used. The intention is often to drive traffic to their site and not yours.
Stolen Photos or Videos?
This is a major problem on the net.
Having your photos stolen, and it can be even more embarrassing if they are private photos you never intended to have released to the public.
Things to consider:
- Did you sign a model release?
- Did you shoot the pictures or videos for a website?
- Were you paid for the photos or videos you shot?
Do not send a DMCA takedown notice if you consented or were compensated for the photo shoot. We've had many people contact us in the past who have wanted to have their pictures removed even though they signed a model release and were paid. Unfortunately, if any of theabove list apply you will have to contact the owners and possibly work out a deal with them. When you signed a release, you gave them permission to use your image.
If your private photos are leaked to the internet and you have not given the websites permission to use your photos you have every right to have the content removed.
DMCA Takedown Fast Tip
Any owner of content has the right to process a takedown notice against a website owner and/or an Online Service Provider (e.g. ISP, hosting company etc.) if the content owner's property is found online without their permission.
What do I need to file for takedown of trademark infringement or copyright infringement?
Three main pieces of information are needed to get started filing a DMCA Takedown Notice:
1. Infringing URL
Where on the internet (or platform like Facebook or TikTok) is your stolen content located? What is the link that you want the content removed from? Be sure to provide the URL or website/webpage link of the content you want removed. If the stolen content is an image or video located on a website provide the direct link of the content contained in the site. Copy and paste the infringing text, or provide the URL of the infringing image if required.
An example link would look like: https://www.badguy_site.com/webpage/image_2
2. Source URL
Where was your content located when it was stolen? Was it on you social media profile like Facebook or Reddit? Was it from your own website? Provide the exact URL where it was stolen from, even if the content has already been removed from it's original location. The original URL is still valuable to the notice. If it was not online you can reference cell phone, computer, or camera etc. If it was online such as a website or cloud storage provide the link to the exact page it was stolen from. You can upload the original content to a cloud storage service and provide that URL with an expalanation of where it was originally stolen from.
An example link would look like: https://share.icloud.com/photos/my_original_content
3. Description of Ownership
What is the content owner's name and how was the content stolen? How is this content yours? How do you own it? Did you create it, buy it, copyright it? Who is claiming ownership of the content? Who is authorized to file the DMCA Takedown? When did you create the content and when was the content stolen?
An example description would sound like: "My photo I took of myself on my camera was stolen from my Google Drive and was posted on this website without my knowledge and I would like it removed."
If you are unsure how to collect the information for these three categories the Professional Takedown Team at DMCA.com can help with the answers. Click here to ask us about your situation.
Can DMCA.com Takedown help me remove trademark infringement or copyright infringement?
Submit the takedown form and our DMCA.com professionals will assit you with having your stolen content removed. We can still help with takedown through our additional takedown services, even if your stolen content is trademark. A DMCA copyright takedown is when content is removed from a website or internet platform at the request of the owner of the content. The DMCA Takedown request process is a well established and accepted internet standard followed by website owners and internet service providers everywhere.
Click here to Start Your Takedown
DMCA Takedown Testimonial
DMCA, I would like to express my deepest gratitude for your hard work and persistent effort to have my content removed. I was very skeptical when I decided to give DMCA a shot. My takedown case was complicated and therefore took some extra time during which I lost hope completely. I am extremely satisfied with the work you have done for me and I recommend your service to anyone who is considering it. DMCA.com came through!
Who can file a for takedown of trademark infringement or copyright infringement?
- content publishers or distributors (with permission of the content or copyright owners)
- social media users and participants
- copyright owners
- NFT owners
- content creators/owners
- code writers and publishers
- subject contained within the content and published without permission (special considerations may be required)
If this list doesn't describe your situation please reach out! Click here to Ask a question!
What countries process trademark infringement or copyright infringement takedown requests?
Although the DMCA Takedown is part of US Copyright law, a DMCA Takedown Notice is often used and accepted throughout the world and not exclusive to the United States. Most countries accept the standard DMCA Takedown Notice form and process. However, many countries have their own copyright laws specifically related to the removal of content from internet service providers and site owners within their borders. Which service providers do and do not accept the standard DMCA takedown notice form and process is dynamic and constantly changing. DMCA.com professionals are aware of these constant changes and are able to convert the information submitted through the standard DMCA Takedown signup form to suit specific countries and/or service providers within the legal process they require.
What kind of websites process trademark infringement or copyright infringement takedowns?
Infringing content is taken down from all types of platforms and websites. Here some examples of where content is removed online:
- from a UCG (User Generated Content) Platform (like Facebook and TikTok), upon receipt of a DMCA Takedown Notice sent by or on behalf of the infringed content owner, distributor, publisher etc.
- by the by the ISP or Hosting company of the website that is publishing the infringing content. This occurs because the website owner has not voluntarily complied with a DMCA Notice and the ISP or Hosting company must comply with the Takedown notice.
- by the website owner, upon receipt of a DMCA Takedown Notice from the website owner's ISP / Hosting company. This would occur when ISP / Hosting company receives a notice sent by or on behalf of the content owner, distributor, publisher etc.
- by the website owner upon receipt of a DMCA Takedown Notice from the, or on behalf of, the content owner, distributor, publisher etc.
- when an infringing website is taken down or taken "offline" by it's ISP or Hosting company. This occurs because the website owner does not voluntarily comply with a Takedown notice as described above.
Related DMCA Takedown FAQ's
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- What is DMCA.com
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