When someone copies your content — photographs, blog posts, software code, videos — and hosts it on a server without your permission, a DMCA takedown notice is the most direct legal mechanism to get it removed. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), specifically Section 512, created a framework where copyright holders can notify hosting providers about infringing material, and those providers must act quickly to remove it or lose their legal protection.
This is article 8 in my complete guide to reporting IP abuse. While other articles in this series cover abuse types like phishing, spam, and DDoS attacks, DMCA takedowns follow a distinct legal process with specific requirements that differ from standard abuse reports. Getting these requirements wrong means your notice gets ignored. Getting them right means content usually comes down within days.
Disclaimer: This guide is educational content, not legal advice. DMCA law involves nuances around fair use, jurisdiction, and statutory penalties for false claims. For complex cases or significant commercial disputes, I recommend consulting an attorney who specializes in intellectual property or internet law.
How Section 512 Takedown Notices Work
The DMCA's "safe harbor" provisions in 17 U.S.C. Section 512 protect hosting providers from liability for copyright-infringing content uploaded by their users — but only if they comply with the takedown process. Here is how it works:
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Copyright holder identifies infringement. You discover that someone is hosting your copyrighted work on their website or server without authorization.
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Copyright holder sends a takedown notice. You send a properly formatted notice to the hosting provider's designated DMCA agent, identifying the infringing material and asserting your ownership.
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Hosting provider removes the content. To maintain its safe harbor protection, the provider must "expeditiously" remove or disable access to the identified material.
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Provider notifies the user. The provider informs the account holder that content has been removed due to a DMCA complaint.
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Counter-notification (optional). The account holder may file a counter-notification claiming the removal was a mistake or that they have the right to use the content.
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Content restored or stays down. If a valid counter-notification is filed and the copyright holder does not file a federal lawsuit within 10-14 business days, the provider restores the content. If no counter-notification is filed, the content stays down.
This system works because hosting providers have a strong incentive to comply. If they ignore valid takedown notices, they lose their safe harbor and become directly liable for the infringement.
Legal Requirements of a Valid DMCA Notice
A valid DMCA takedown notice under 17 U.S.C. Section 512(c)(3) must contain six specific elements. Missing any one of them gives the provider grounds to reject your notice.
1. Identification of the Copyrighted Work
You must clearly identify the original copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed. This can be:
- A direct URL to the original content on your website
- A description of the work (title, date of creation, registration number)
- If multiple works are infringed on a single site, a representative list
Be specific. "My photography" is not sufficient. "The photograph titled 'Sunset Over Colombo Harbor' published at https://example.com/photos/sunset-colombo on March 15, 2024" is.
2. Identification of the Infringing Material
You must identify the material you claim is infringing and provide information "reasonably sufficient to permit the service provider to locate the material." In practice, this means exact URLs.
Do not simply point to a domain. Point to the specific pages or files where your content appears. If the infringing content is an image, provide the URL of the page where it is displayed and, if possible, the direct URL of the image file.
3. Your Contact Information
You must provide sufficient contact information for the hosting provider to reach you. This includes:
- Your full legal name
- Your mailing address
- Your phone number
- Your email address
If you are acting as an agent for the copyright holder (such as an attorney or a rights management service), include your authority to act on their behalf.
4. Good Faith Statement
Your notice must include a statement that you have "a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law."
This is the exact statutory language. I recommend using it verbatim in your notice.
5. Accuracy Statement
Your notice must include a statement that "the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed."
This is serious. The "under penalty of perjury" language means that knowingly sending a false DMCA notice can have legal consequences. Only send a notice if you genuinely own the copyright or are authorized to act on behalf of the owner.
6. Signature
The notice must be signed by the copyright holder or their authorized agent. An electronic signature (a typed name with "/s/" prefix or a digital signature) is acceptable.
Evidence Gathering Checklist
Before you send a DMCA notice, collect the following evidence. Thorough documentation strengthens your claim and speeds up the provider's response.
- URLs of infringing content — Every specific page or file URL where your content appears without authorization. Copy these exactly as they appear in the browser's address bar.
- URLs of your original content — Links to where your original work is published, showing that you are the creator and that your publication predates the copy.
- Screenshots with timestamps — Use your browser's built-in screenshot tool or a service like the Wayback Machine. Include the date visible in the screenshot. If you use a browser extension that adds timestamps, even better.
- Copyright registration (if available) — If you have registered the work with the US Copyright Office or equivalent agency, include the registration number. Registration is not required to file a DMCA notice, but it strengthens your claim and is required if you later need to pursue statutory damages in court.
- Hosting IP address — Use the IP Location tool to identify the hosting provider. Enter the domain name or IP address of the infringing site to find the organization responsible for the server.
- Publication dates — Any evidence showing your content was published first. Blog post dates, social media posts, email records, or source control commits (for code) all work.
Finding the Abuse Contact
DMCA notices must be sent to the hosting provider's designated DMCA agent — not to a general contact form or random email address. There are several ways to find the right recipient.
Use the IP Location Tool
Start by looking up the infringing site's IP address with the IP Location tool. This will identify the hosting provider and often provide abuse contact information, including the specialized copyright@ contact if one is registered.
Once you know the hosting provider, you can find their DMCA agent through the methods below.
US Copyright Office DMCA Agent Directory
Hosting providers that want safe harbor protection must register a designated DMCA agent with the US Copyright Office. You can search the directory at https://www.copyright.gov/dmca-directory/ by the provider's name.
The directory entry lists the agent's name, address, phone number, and email address. This is the most authoritative source for the correct recipient.
Provider's Website
Most hosting providers publish their DMCA policy and agent contact information on their website, typically at URLs like:
/dmca/legal/dmca/copyright/termsor/legal(look for a DMCA section)/abuse
Large providers like AWS, Google Cloud, DigitalOcean, OVH, and Hetzner all have dedicated DMCA intake pages or email addresses.
WHOIS Lookup
If you cannot identify the hosting provider, a WHOIS lookup on the domain may reveal the registrar, which is another valid recipient for DMCA notices (covered in the next section).
DMCA Takedown Notice Template
Here is a complete template that satisfies all six statutory requirements. Replace the bracketed placeholders with your specific information.
Subject: DMCA Takedown Notice — Copyright Infringement
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am writing to notify you of copyright infringement occurring on
a server under your control, pursuant to the Digital Millennium
Copyright Act (17 U.S.C. § 512).
1. COPYRIGHTED WORK
The original copyrighted work is:
- Title: [Title of your work]
- URL of original: [URL where your original content is published]
- Description: [Brief description of the work]
- Copyright registration number (if applicable): [Number or "N/A"]
- Date of first publication: [Date]
2. INFRINGING MATERIAL
The following URLs contain material that infringes my copyright.
This information is reasonably sufficient to permit you to locate
the material:
- [URL of infringing content #1]
- [URL of infringing content #2]
- [Additional URLs as needed]
The infringing material is a [copy/reproduction/derivative] of my
original work described above.
3. CONTACT INFORMATION
Name: [Your full legal name]
Address: [Your mailing address]
Phone: [Your phone number]
Email: [Your email address]
4. GOOD FAITH STATEMENT
I have a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner
complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent,
or the law.
5. ACCURACY STATEMENT
The information in this notification is accurate, and under penalty
of perjury, I am authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an
exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.
6. SIGNATURE
/s/ [Your full legal name]
Date: [Date]
Send this notice via email to the hosting provider's designated DMCA agent. Keep a copy of the email with its timestamp for your records.
Where to Send Your DMCA Notice
Depending on the situation, you may need to send your notice to multiple recipients.
Hosting Provider's DMCA Agent
This is your primary target. The hosting provider controls the server where the infringing content lives. Use the IP Location tool to identify the provider, then find their designated DMCA agent through the Copyright Office directory or their website.
Domain Registrar
If the hosting provider is unresponsive or you cannot identify them, send the notice to the domain registrar. ICANN-accredited registrars are required to maintain abuse contact information. Look up the registrar through WHOIS and send the DMCA notice to their abuse or legal team.
CDN Provider
If the infringing site uses a content delivery network like Cloudflare, Fastly, or Akazon CloudFront, the CDN may be the only entity visible in IP lookups. While CDN providers typically forward DMCA notices to the actual hosting provider, they can also take action to stop caching and serving the infringing content.
Google Search (DMCA Removal)
If the infringing content appears in Google search results, you can submit a separate DMCA request through Google's Legal Removal Request tool at https://support.google.com/legal/troubleshooter/1114905. This does not remove the content from the server but removes it from search results, significantly reducing its visibility.
Sub-Scenarios
Website Hosting Stolen Content (Images, Text, Video)
This is the most common DMCA scenario. Someone has copied your photographs, blog posts, articles, or videos and republished them on their website.
For images, use reverse image search (Google Images or TinEye) to find all instances of your images across the web. For text, use quoted phrase searches in Google to find verbatim copies. Document every URL and include them all in your notice.
If the site has copied a large volume of your content, you do not need to list every single URL. Section 512 allows a "representative list" when multiple works at a single site are infringed.
Software and Code Piracy
If someone is distributing your software, source code, or libraries without authorization, the DMCA process is the same but the evidence looks different. Include:
- Your source repository URL (GitHub, GitLab, etc.) showing commit history and authorship
- License terms that the infringer is violating
- Specific files or directories on the infringing server that contain your code
GitHub has a dedicated DMCA process at https://github.com/github/dmca with its own form. Other code hosting platforms have similar procedures.
Brand Impersonation
When someone creates a website that impersonates your brand — using your logos, design, and content to deceive visitors — the DMCA can address the copyright aspects (copied logos, text, images), while trademark law covers the brand confusion. This scenario overlaps significantly with phishing, where attackers clone legitimate sites to steal credentials.
For brand impersonation, consider filing both a DMCA notice (for copied content) and a phishing/abuse report (for the deceptive nature of the site).
Content Behind Cloudflare or Other CDN
When you look up the IP address of a site behind Cloudflare, you will see Cloudflare's IP addresses rather than the actual hosting server. This is by design — the CDN acts as a reverse proxy.
Cloudflare has a dedicated abuse reporting form at https://www.cloudflare.com/abuse/. When you submit a DMCA notice to Cloudflare, they will:
- Forward the complaint to the hosting provider (if known to them)
- Provide you with the actual hosting IP address in some cases
- Potentially disable their CDN services for the infringing content
If Cloudflare reveals the origin server's IP, use the IP Location tool to identify the actual hosting provider, then send a separate DMCA notice directly to them.
What to Expect After Sending
Timelines
The DMCA requires hosting providers to remove infringing content "expeditiously." There is no legally defined number of days, but in practice:
- Large hosting providers (AWS, Google Cloud, DigitalOcean): Typically acknowledge within 24-48 hours and remove content within 3-5 business days.
- Medium-sized hosts: 3-7 business days is common.
- Smaller or offshore hosts: Response times vary widely. Some respond within days, others may take weeks or not respond at all.
Counter-Notification Process
After the provider removes content, the account holder has the right to file a counter-notification claiming that the removal was a mistake or that they have authorization to use the content. If they do:
- The provider forwards the counter-notification to you.
- You have 10-14 business days to file a federal lawsuit seeking a court order against the infringer.
- If you do not file suit within that window, the provider will restore the content.
Counter-notifications are relatively rare. Most infringers do not respond because doing so requires them to consent to federal court jurisdiction and provide their real contact information.
If the Provider Ignores Your Notice
If a hosting provider does not respond to a properly formatted DMCA notice within a reasonable time (two weeks is a common benchmark):
- Escalate within the provider. Resend to additional abuse contacts or their legal department directly.
- Contact the upstream provider. Every hosting provider has an upstream network provider (transit provider). You can send the DMCA notice to them as well.
- Report to the domain registrar. The registrar can suspend the domain entirely.
- File with Google for search removal. Even if the content stays on the server, removing it from search results reduces its impact.
- Consult an attorney. If the infringement causes significant financial harm, legal action against the infringer directly (or against a non-compliant provider) may be warranted.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Overbroad claims. Claiming that an entire website infringes when only specific pages contain your content will slow down the process or get your notice rejected. Be surgical — identify the exact URLs.
Missing required elements. Omitting the perjury statement, the good faith statement, or your signature makes the notice legally deficient. Providers who receive a deficient notice are not obligated to act on it.
Sending to the wrong recipient. Sending a DMCA notice to a site's general contact form, the site owner directly, or a random email address does not trigger the provider's legal obligation. The notice must go to the designated DMCA agent.
Confusing copyright with trademark. The DMCA covers copyright infringement (copied content). If your issue is someone using your brand name or logo in a way that causes consumer confusion, that is a trademark matter, and the DMCA is not the right tool. Many providers do accept trademark complaints, but they have separate processes.
Filing against fair use. Criticism, commentary, news reporting, parody, and certain educational uses of copyrighted material may qualify as fair use under 17 U.S.C. Section 107. Filing a DMCA notice against legitimate fair use can expose you to liability under Section 512(f) for misrepresentation. If the use might be fair use, consult an attorney before filing.
Not keeping records. Save copies of every notice you send, every response you receive, and every piece of evidence you collect. If the matter escalates to legal action, you will need a clear paper trail.