Forums under Legal Attack

[BirdOPrey5]

Originally Posted by onehost

I am not debating, to be honest, I would be on the end that has US copyright
protection, then not having it, and being sued, from anyone, or for whatever
copyright reasons they might claim to have or hold...

I noticed it says $105, but i do not understand the $30 block below
that...does that mean if you put anything on that line then it
will cost an extra $30?

10 years ago, their rates where like $20

The Govt's greed is showing over the years

What I was told was that if you use more than 1 name you might as well fill up that line to the 10 max because it cost's the same... If you need 11 to 20 then you have to pay $60, or so on. Personally I paid the extra $30 because I have multiple domain names all going to the same site. I don't know if it was necessary but $30 was cheaper then getting a professional opinion on it.

Originally Posted by JamesC70

The Registered Agent also serves DMCA notices. Should a forum receive a takedown notice claiming CNN copyright, the forum owner can check the Registered Agent filing on Copyright.gov to verify that it is a legitimate takedown notice.

If your website generates unique content, registering an agent shows that you intend to protect your work. Should you ever file a DMCA takedown against another website, the other website doesn't comply, and you push it to court, then the judge would look more favorably toward the party that followed DMCA procedure.

That's the whole point of a Registered Agent -- all copyright issues regarding that site go through that agent, no matter if the issue is "CNN stole from you" or "you stole from CNN".

Thank you for the explanation. I'm still learning, didn't know the Agent would also initiate claims. Good stuff. :up:

[final kaoss]

Access denied
You are not authorized to access this page.

Originally Posted by BirdOPrey5

http://www.dailypaul.com/node/143700

There's a Lawyer with an LLC out there buying the rights to old news stories and then suing forums and bloggers who have parts of "his" articles copied on their sites... So a user wants to comment on a newspaper article they link to it and usually post a paragraph or two, if not the whole article (if it's short enough) and BAM now this guy will sue the site owner for $75,000 and demand their forfeit their domain to him... apparently it's a legal loophole he's able to use and gets away with this crap... None of the 100+ sites he's sued so far have been able to defend against this and haad to settle for thousands of dollars and/or close up.

This is a major issue for forum owners and quite frankly I think IB should be putting up the legal capital to combat this- he will hurt/ruin forums and by extension, their business.

I will post a request they get involved on .com, but this post here is a warning for other forum owners.

[BirdOPrey5]

They've removed or hidden the original article... (posted 3 months ago) but other links in this thread still work and give good info.

[onehost]

I am still at a loss on how copyright.gov is supposed to protect you if you
register with them. I understand the theory, but what I do not see on
their site is the "how". What is going to keep an attorney from filing
suit against you regardless (before making DMCA contact). I really do not
see anything on copyright.gov that explains to atty's on what to
expect or what they can, or can not do. All copyright.gov pretty says
is that you are protected to some degree, but does not explain more then that.

[Digital Jedi]

Originally Posted by onehost

I am still at a loss on how copyright.gov is supposed to protect you if you
register with them. I understand the theory, but what I do not see on
their site is the "how". What is going to keep an attorney from filing
suit against you regardless (before making DMCA contact). I really do not
see anything on copyright.gov that explains to atty's on what to
expect or what they can, or can not do. All copyright.gov pretty says
is that you are protected to some degree, but does not explain more then that.

I've had Copyright.gov bookmarked for years. It's just the place you go to register your works with the government offices.

[kh99]

Originally Posted by onehost

What is going to keep an attorney from filing
suit against you regardless (before making DMCA contact).

Nothing, except maybe they might know they likely won't win if you complied with the terms of the DMCA.

I really do not see anything on copyright.gov that explains to atty's on what to
expect or what they can, or can not do. All copyright.gov pretty says
is that you are protected to some degree, but does not explain more then that.

Well, I don't think it's their purpose to teach law to lawyers, but there's a lot of info on that site.

[onehost]

Originally Posted by Digital Jedi

I've had Copyright.gov bookmarked for years. It's just the place you go to register your works with the government offices.

unless you read this entire section, you will not know what I am
talking about, at no time was we ever talking about getting
our works copyrighted....this is concerning protection for
websites found using copyright content...

you need to read all threads to understand what I am talking about.

--------------- Added [DATE]1292860614[/DATE] at [TIME]1292860614[/TIME] ---------------

Originally Posted by kh99

Nothing, except maybe they might know they likely won't win if you complied with the terms of the DMCA.



Well, I don't think it's their purpose to teach law to lawyers, but there's a lot of info on that site.

You can have all the info you want on the site, but if you evade the actual
"how does this actually protect" rather then saying it just does, then you
end up with more questions then answers...

If you got your site registered, your first question is going to be
ok, im protected, but how...? It does not matter at this point
if the other side win's or loses, its going to court to begin with
that could financially ruin you...if i register, is dot.gov going to pay my
legal fees should some atty not care if I am registered or not?

the moral of this story is, exactly how am I protected?
If you are going to setup a site to collect money..
well I think I deserve to know, not some hot shot answer...
your just protected, that is careless, and not good enough for me.

registered or not, the chances of most sites being able to afford
going through the entire legal process is just about slim to none.

[Digital Jedi]

Originally Posted by onehost

unless you read this entire section, you will not know what I am
talking about, at no time was we ever talking about getting
our works copyrighted....this is concerning protection for
websites found using copyright content...

you need to read all threads to understand what I am talking about.

What I'm suggesting is that it doesn't really do much more than that what registering copyrights always has. Protect you in the event someone tries to steal your idea. In other words, I don't see how it protects you from RightHaven, either.

[JamesC70]

Originally Posted by onehost

You can have all the info you want on the site, but if you evade the actual
"how does this actually protect" rather then saying it just does, then you
end up with more questions then answers...

If you got your site registered, your first question is going to be
ok, im protected, but how...? It does not matter at this point
if the other side win's or loses, its going to court to begin with
that could financially ruin you...if i register, is dot.gov going to pay my
legal fees should some atty not care if I am registered or not?

the moral of this story is, exactly how am I protected?
If you are going to setup a site to collect money..
well I think I deserve to know, not some hot shot answer...
your just protected, that is careless, and not good enough for me.

kh99 answered you correctly. You seem to want Copyright.gov to guarantee that your content isn't infringing... and you can't find it on Copyright.gov because they don't do that.

Filing a Registered Agent form with Copyright.gov simply tells others who you've designated to handle any copyright concerns regarding your website -- it's an entry in a database, not an insurance policy.

If you're outside of the US, then all this talk about DMCA and Copyright.gov is irrelevant to you, and you should consult a legal advisor in your own country.

[kh99]

Originally Posted by onehost

You can have all the info you want on the site, but if you evade the actual "how does this actually protect" rather then saying it just does, then you
end up with more questions then answers...

And I'm saying the information's on the site, if you can't understand it then you probably need to hire a lawyer. That's just the way stuff works. The copyright office doesn't make or enforce the laws. They can't tell you you're protected just by registering, because you're not. If you find the document about DMCA you'll see that it's not the only requirement. And even if you meet them all someone could still file suit because that's just they way the legal system works.

(ETA: I hadn't read JamesC70's post before posting so I'm kind of repeating some of it...)

But, hey, if you think there should be more info for people wondering what to do, maybe you should contact them and suggest it. It does say that one of their purposes is to provide expert legal advice regarding copyright issues. Was that your original point? Are you saying you don't get it, or that you just think they should explain it as a public service?

(I am not a lawyer or anything like that.)