DMCA Notice Procedure

DMCA Notice Procedure

If a service provider receives such a notice and wants to maintain its limited liability status under the provisions of Title II of the DMCA, it must respond accordingly. It must take whatever steps it deems necessary to prevent the infringement from continuing, though the DMCA does not detail what those steps should be.

Higher education institutes qualify as service providers under the DMCA and have been receiving such notices for over a decade at this point. While the copyright owners may suggest courses of action that colleges could take to deal with infringements, it is ultimately up to the institutions themselves to decide on the exact process(es) they will follow, so long as alleged infringers stop sharing the copyrighted materials as a result.

Carleton's standard procedure for handling DMCA (cease and desist) notices is outlined below, along with a few more details on the notices themselves.

Before the College is Notified

1) Copyright owners, or agents working on their behalf, aggressively scan file sharing networks for copyrighted materials belonging to their member organizations.

2) When such material is found, the IP address of the individual sharing the material is noted and used to identify the corresponding online service provider - in this case, Carleton College. A Case ID is assigned to the incident. In the case of RIAA notices, this Case ID is based on the IP address.

3) A letter detailing the Case ID, the file being shared, and the IP address from which it is being shared, is sent to Carleton's designated DMCA agent.

The letter specifically asks that the college take steps to prevent the alleged infringer - identified only by their IP address - from continuing to share the material. The letter also indicates that if Carleton fails to comply with this request, they may be held liable for future infringements. This holds true under the terms of Title II of the DMCA.

After the College is Notified

4) On receiving such a letter, Carleton's agent identifies the alleged infringer by checking the specified IP address against our database of registered machines.

5) The alleged infringer's network access is immediately blocked.

6) An email is then sent to the individual explaining why their access has been blocked. This email includes details of the alleged infringement and a copy of the DMCA notice itself. Finally, the email outlines what steps the individual should take in order to prevent the file(s) in question from being shared and to regain their network privileges.

• To prevent the materials from being shared, the individual can either delete the copyrighted material from their machine, uninstall any file sharing utilities, or remove all copyrighted materials from these utilities' shared spaces.

7) Upon confirming that no copyrighted materials are being shared from their computer, the alleged infringer's network access is re-enabled. A record is kept of the alleged infringement for legal reasons and for use in the event of a repeat offense.

8) No further communication with the copyright owner is required after receipt of the DMCA notice.
This does not mean, however, that the copyright holder considers the matter resolved. For example, in the case of the RIAA, if the individual continues to share files and is identified a second time, the subsequent notice will be filed using the same Case ID as before, potentially flagging it as a repeat offense.

Repeat offenses

Repeat offenses endanger Carleton's limited liability protection under the DMCA and quite probably draw further attention to the college. If, for example, the RIAA were to record a second or third infringement from the same IP address on Carleton's network, it would not be unreasonable for them to assume that the college did not take the necessary steps after the first DMCA notice. As compliance with the requests made in a DMCA notice is required for the service provider to maintain its limited liability standing, this has serious implications. For this reason, the process that Carleton will follow will differ somewhat when faced with a repeat offender.

First Offense

• The individual's network access is blocked until they confirm that they are not sharing copyrighted materials.

Second Offense

• The individual's network access is blocked and they are required to present their machine to the Helpdesk staff who will remove any file sharing applications installed on the machine. At this time, any copyrighted materials which can clearly be identified as having been obtained illegally will also be removed.

• The individual is also required to make an appointment with the Director of Technology Support to discuss the current situation and to review what will happen in the event of a third offense.

• Once the Helpdesk staff have finished working on the machine and the appointment has been scheduled, the individual's network access is restored.

• Should the individual fail to meet with the Director, their access will be blocked once again until after the rescheduled meeting has taken place.

Third Offense

• The individual's network access is blocked and they are required to present their machine to the Helpdesk staff who will remove any file sharing applications installed on the machine. At this time, any copyrighted materials which can clearly be identified as having been obtained illegally will also be removed.

• The case is then referred to the Dean of Students office for appropriate disciplinary action. The Dean's office is provided copies of all corresponding DMCA notices and email exchanges.

• The individual's network access may or may not be restored depending on the decisions of the Dean's office.