Torrentfreak reported yesterday that WordPress has issued a lawsuit demanding $10,000 in compensation to cover damages suffered through a false DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) takedown notice.
WordPress is taking a stand against copyright holders who abuse the DMCA takedown process. The process is abused when people request the takedown of perfectly legal content.
There has been a rapid increase in DMCA takedown notices in recent years, reports Torrentfreak. While most of the request are legitimate, but there are still those who abuse the process which takes up a lot of WordPress’s time and resources.
This lawsuit stems from a particular incident in November 2013 where an individual didn’t appreciate being quoted in an article, and issued a false takedown request to have it removed. As a result, a lawsuit was filed and WordPress hopes to be compensated for the damage caused by the false takedown request.
WordPress explained to the court that as an online service provider it faces “overwhelming and crippling copyright liability” if it fails to take down content. Those who abuse takedown requests because they want to censor critics or competitors have to be stopped.
If the court agrees with WordPress requests, a total of $10,000 in damages and $14,520 in attorneys’ fees, it will hopefully be a signal that there are consequences to false DMCA takedown requests.
The court is said to reach its decision on this case in a few weeks. Until that time, I’d like to hear what you think.
Should those who abuse DMCA takedown requests face harsh consequences? Let me know your thoughts in the comments section.
