They all say that nowadays, nothing is original anymore. Every content or artwork is just a copy of an already pre-existing one. However, if you straight up claim the material as yours without crediting the original creators, it is a different story.
With the advent of the internet, it seemed like more and more people had also been able to steal other people’s content easily. It is easy to think that every single thing we see online is up for grabs, right? But in reality, it actually is not.
The same goes if, for any reason, you are in a situation where you had your public documents and materials got leaked online. A law that protects everyone from getting their copyrighted materials from being stolen called the DMCA law.
To know more about this law, continue reading below, as this article will explain everything you need to understand when it comes to property rights on any digital content. You will also be learning how this law covered you when your photos, videos, or other digital documents got a leak on various pages/websites.
What is Copyright law?
First, before understanding what DMCA is all about, we need to know what copyright law is. This type of law protects all creators from a potential theft of their products and original contents.
Whether the content was reproduced publicly or not, as long as another individual steals it exactly or just the majority of the idea, the original creator can file a complaint. This was made to give respect to everyone’s creative outputs.
For example, if a well-known book was circulated without the consent of the original writer or producer, that is a form of copyright infringement. The same goes for artwork. Even if they changed the title or a slight variation to the colors, if it was obviously a copy, then they can be sued for it.
However, it only applies if they vocally claim it as theirs or if they profit from it. Other people can still recreate these contents as long as they give proper credits to the creators. They should not get any money from it unless they get the license and approval to use it for commercial use.
Before that arose with this law, the problem is when the internet started becoming a big part of our lives. They only considered physically published materials, but what about digitalized content? This issue allowed legislators to create a new type of copyright law that is more suitable to the changing landscape of content creation.
What is the DMCA law?
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act is a law that protects content creators’ intellectual properties to any of their original materials that turned digital. These properties span from pictures, films, music, e-books, and any other digitalized documents.
This law was signed by the 42nd United States President, Bill Clinton, on October 28, 1998, to revolutionize how digital content was being used. When the internet has only just started becoming a thing, people believed that everything they see online is free.
That mentality allowed people to use other people’s content without even giving them proper credit. Moreover, the seemingly limitless geographical range that the internet provided pave the way for the rise of digital piracy.
Now that the internet gave these people more access to everyone worldwide, it became easier for them to sell pirated content to those interested. Of course, they saw this as a great opportunity to earn money. That’s why a lot of digital pirates did it.
It was already predicted that the digital age would rise rapidly from then on. That is why the US government passed this law, implementing and ratifying two treaties that the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) created two years back.
There are some instances when a person or a group of people are not aware that they have stolen someone else’s content. They can get off with just a warning if they eventually take down that copyrighted material once the original creators notify them.
This law punishes those who spread unsolicited contents to their pages or websites for their profit, especially those who claim them as their own. This act is straight-up plagiarism and stealing of other people’s content. Basically, this is a form of theft, but it is only done digitally.
How can the DMCA law protect your private digital documents?
Although this law seems to only cover “published” content, it protects ordinary citizens too from getting their digital documents stolen and uploaded online. As long as that content is yours, you are protected by the conditions of this anti-theft law.
Even if it is just a selfie, random video you took or even typewritten notes that you stored on your mobile devices and other gadgets, you automatically own your copyrights on them. No one can ever steal them and leak these documents online without your explicit consent.
Some people believe that it is better to create solid proofs that these materials are yours. However, this is only the ideal way of storing your digital content. It is not a requirement, but it speeds up winning a case if it eventually gets brought up to the court.
It is also important to note that the DMCA law is also only applicable to web hosting sites in the US. But, this type of anti-theft law for digital content is present in most countries worldwide, especially that the world is living in the digital world now.
So rest assured, you can still file a DMCA notice to anyone who steals your digital content, no matter what it may be.
Contact us if you need help
The internet is a double-edged sword. Along with its countless benefits are also one or more other disadvantages. It may have made everything more convenient, but it also gave everyone some form of access to their private information and documents. Most of our information and pictures are backed up on the cloud, but it didn’t take long for hackers to figure out how to get them.
If your phone got hacked or someone stole any of your digital content, don’t ever hesitate to call us for help. We are a female-led company specializing in DMCA takedowns and removing these leaked contents online to protect your privacy and safety.
Remember, we are here to help you, so just get in touch with us to learn more about who we are and how we can together remove these files online.
If you are interested in how we could assist you through our services, please click here to get in touch with us today for a discussion. Our team is looking forward to helping you.
Email: info@leakcontentremoval.com
Telegram: @halcyonlily
Whatsapp: +65 94837665
