Vondran Legal®: YouTube Copyright Infringement Disputes - DMCA Takedown, counter-notifications and Lawsuits. Call us at (877) 276-5084 to seek legal representation.
Introduction
Question: What happens if you submit a counter-notification and the other party files a federal court lawsuit within 10 days? Will your YouTube channel be in jeopardy? Might you face "three strikes and you're out" if there were multiple infringing issues?
General information: In general, the DMCA takedown process can be seen in this video. As you can see, after a counter-notice is filed, YouTube will put the offending content back up. However, if the alleged copyright holder files a federal court lawsuit within 10 days, then the content will stay down while the parties hash out the copyright case in court.
General thoughts
If the plaintiff were to win the case in court, they would be able to submit a notice of their “win” to Google, depending on whether or not there were multiple violations (ex., 3 or more videos were at issue). This could lead to a three-strikes problem, which could potentially put your channel at risk of being lost forever. So, it is important to have legal counsel by your side to help review and defend your case if you are a defendant.
However, if there is a way to settle the case amicably between the parties (plaintiff and defendant) and have them notify YouTube that the dispute was mutually resolved and have them withdraw their claim, then that would hopefully keep you in good standing with Google. Keep in mind, Google has a lot of discretion when it comes to this area of law.
This is from the Google FAQ:
If you are challenging the Counter-notice [Get evidence of legal action]
As the Google Help page notes:
To respond to a counter-notification, claimants must include evidence that one of the following legal actions has been taken:
- An action seeking a court order against the uploader to restrain the allegedly infringing activity (not just a claim for damages).
- A claim of copyright infringement against the uploader (if such uploader is based within the United States) with the US Copyright Office's Copyright Claims Board (CCB), where applicable.
The claimant's action or claim should name the uploader and the specific content at issue, such as YouTube video URLs. Acceptable evidence could include a copy of one of the following:
- Lawsuit
- Court order
- CCB claim
- Determination of infringement from the CCB
Lawsuits should be filed in courts that have the jurisdiction to review copyright cases. For lawsuits filed in the United States, we can only accept filings in US federal courts.
Attorney Steve Tip: If you have agreed to jurisdiction in your counter-notification, you very well may find yourself in a case in San Bruno, California (where YouTube is located), and this is considered the Northern District of California. We have handled many copyright litigation cases in both the Northern, Central, Eastern and Southern Districts of California.
Contact a YouTube and Vimeo DMCA Copyright Lawyer
We can be reached at (877) 276-5084. We handle a wide variety of internet law claims, including YouTube DMCA takedowns, Viral DRM lawsuits, fair use defense and opinion letters, mobile application disputes on Google Play and Apple Store, DMCA 512(f) bad faith takedowns, counterfeit sales on Etsy, Amazon, and other platforms, and UDRP domain name disputesand general copyright, trademark, and trade secret infringement matters, to name a few areas.
