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The US Copyright Office has invited stakeholders to comment on issues surrounding the safe harbour provision outlined under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).
The public consultation, which centres on section 512 of the DMCA, began on December 31 and interested parties have until March 21 to comment.
Among the issues up for discussion include the effectiveness of takedown notices and US courts' interpretation of the DMCA.
Under section 512 of the DMCA, an internet service provider is not liable for copyright infringement if it has introduced mechanisms to halt the transmission of unauthorised material.
Key questions raised by the office include:
• Are the section 512 safe harbours working as Congress intended?
• How effective is section 512’s notice-and-takedown process for addressing online infringement?
• How are judicial interpretations impacting the effectiveness of section 512?
The review begins as the number of takedown notices under the DMCA is increasing, according to the office. Google, for instance, receives more than 2 million requests a day to remove URLs.
More details are available on the copyright office’s website.
US Copyright Office; DMCA; copyright; piracy; Google
