How Do I Send A Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) Takedown Notice?

A DMCA take-down notice is an easy and relatively inexpensive way to have your copyright protected materials removed from a website hosting company servers, or a search index on Yahoo, Google, or Bing. The first thing you need to know about how to send a DMCA notice is that you must be the copyright owner in order to send the notice. The copyright owner is typically the person who put their fingers to the keyboard, their finger to the click button on the camera, or their pen to paper. The person who is the author of the work is most often the copyright owner. Sometimes the copyright owner will license or sign their interest to an employer or third party which may then have the impact of transferring the copyright to someone who is not the author.

The next thing you need to understand about how to send a DMCA take-down notice is who to send it to. As noted above, any third party who is

a service provider with a DMCA copyright policy is potentially a target for a DMCA notice letter. So, for instance, the company

hosting the website is often the primary DMCA notice target. People don’t realize they can also send a DMCA notice to Google, Yahoo, and Bing in order to have their materials removed from the search index. That often gets the job done since the infringing material doesn’t come back on search.

You must strictly follow the DMCA take-down policy and rules set forth by the third party provider in order to successfully remove copyright protected materials from the internet. If a provider does not have a DMCA policy, then they may not have immunity from copyright infringement claims. This means you could send a copyright infringement threat letter directly to that third party provider unprotected by DMCA immunity provisions.

An experienced DMCA attorney can help you understand how to send a DMCA take-down notice, who to send it to and what to expect by way of response. Understanding how to send a DMCA notice correctly will save you a lot of time and money down the road.


Enrico Schaefer

Founding attorney Enrico is a seasoned consultant who guides companies, including law firms, in effectively integrating artificial intelligence (AI). With a wide range of consulting services, Enrico assists clients in harnessing the power of AI while ensuring ethical and responsible implementation.

Years of experience: 35+ years

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This page has been written, edited, and reviewed by a team of legal writers following our comprehensive editorial guidelines. This page was approved by attorney Enrico Schaefer, who has more than 20 years of legal experience as a practicing Business, IP, and Technology Law litigation attorney.