Hiring the Wrong DMCA Company Could End Your Career – Here’s Why

Content creators across the internet frequently encounter unauthorized use of their work. This issue, exacerbated by platforms known as "OnlyFans leak sites," represents an ongoing struggle for creators trying to protect their intellectual property. In response, many turn to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), a U.S. law enacted in 1998 to help copyright holders address digital piracy.

The DMCA establishes a clear procedure called the "notice and takedown" system. Copyright holders submit a takedown notice to online service providers (OSPs), detailing the infringing content. Upon verifying the claim, the OSP must remove the infringing material. The alleged infringer may subsequently issue a counter-notice to dispute the claim, citing fair use or ownership rights.

Risks of Selecting the Wrong DMCA Service

Due to the complexity and effort involved, content creators often employ third-party companies specializing in DMCA takedown notices. However, the selection of a DMCA service requires caution. Many services utilize automated tools that indiscriminately target content, potentially resulting in erroneous claims.

For example, if an adult performer creates content for studios such as Brazzers or Naughty America, these studios retain ownership rights to that content due to model releases signed by the performer. A DMCA service mistakenly issuing a takedown notice for this professionally produced material could lead to severe legal complications. Such incidents have already resulted in several adult performers being placed on "Do Not Hire" lists by major studios due to repeated false DMCA claims made by their hired services.

Issuing a false DMCA notice carries significant legal risks When submitting a DMCA takedown request, the claimant declares under penalty of perjury that they are the rightful owner of the content. Sending a notice without legitimate ownership constitutes perjury, potentially triggering both civil and criminal penalties. Civil suits may involve claims for defamation or declaratory judgments against the issuer, while criminal charges can result in substantial fines and imprisonment of up to five years.

Moreover, platforms like Google penalize individuals submitting fraudulent claims by banning them from essential services, including Gmail and YouTube. These consequences underline the seriousness of ensuring all DMCA notices are valid and carefully vetted.

Given the potential pitfalls of using automated DMCA services, creators are encouraged to employ more reliable methods, such as hiring a virtual assistant. This approach allows manual verification of ownership rights before issuing takedown notices, significantly reducing the risk of false claims.

By carefully selecting the appropriate DMCA support method, content creators can effectively protect their intellectual property without inadvertently damaging their careers or facing serious legal repercussions. Understanding the nuances of DMCA procedures and the importance of accuracy is crucial in maintaining both legal compliance and professional relationships.

I sat down with 'Take Down Piracy' to find out the right questions to ask when evaluating a DMCA company.

Do you manually verify DMCA takedown requests before sending them?

Why it matters: Automated systems can lead to false claims, which can damage reputations and invite legal consequences.

Take Down Piracy: We absolutely verify infringements prior to sending DMCA notices. Anyone issuing a DMCA notice swears under penalty of perjury that they have a good-faith belief that the content is infringing. If you’re not actually verifying, it’s pretty difficult to claim you have that good-faith belief.

What is your process for confirming content ownership?

Why it matters: A reliable company should require proof that you own the rights to the content being reported.

Take Down Piracy: If anything, part of our work is explaining (to clients) who does and who does not own a copyright. This has become particularly important, as platforms have their own Terms of Service, and more and more independent content creators participate in collaborations. 

Unless collaborators have detailed agreements, in writing, specifying who owns the content, where it can or cannot be posted, what to do if there is a dispute, we cannot and will not use the DMCA to resolve collab disputes.

Further, many content creators have worked for studios that actually own content. Less savvy, reckless DMCA services, who don’t pay attention to these details, often send DMCA notices to the studios on behalf of the performer, simply because that performer’s name is in the metadata for the posted scene. This means they are removing or de-listing (from Google) content from the legitimate copyright holder. That is a recipe for blacklisting a performer (at best), and potential litigation (at worst).

Do you keep records of all takedown notices and correspondence?

Why it matters: Detailed logs can protect you in case of disputes or legal action.

Have you ever had clients face legal issues due to false DMCA notices filed by your service?

Why it matters: Their answer can give insight into their track record and risk management.

Take Down Piracy: Neither we nor our clients have ever been in litigation for DMCA notices sent by us. That said, we are constantly receiving information or requests for assistance from our clients, who have received bad-faith DMCA notices from these less-than-professional DMCA services, that either don’t know what they’re doing, or don’t care, and send unverified removal requests.

Which platforms and websites do you monitor and target for takedowns?

Why it matters: Some companies focus only on large platforms, while others specialize in adult sites, social media, or torrent sites.

Take Down Piracy: The shorter the list is, the less we monitor for infringements! Of course, we peruse search engines and torrents, file lockers, social media, tube sites, etc. There’s no area where piracy doesn’t exist, so it behooves us to look in as many places as possible. Of course, a number of DMCA services seem to act on the premise that, if the client can’t find it on Google, they won’t “worry” about it. Search engines are just one part of our approach, as we are voracious in our appetite for destroying pirates and their revenue streams.

Do you offer support in case of counter-notices or legal pushback?

Why it matters: You’ll want to know if they offer any guidance if someone disputes a takedown.

Take Down Piracy: We have an entire protocol for escalating DMCA notices when we receive a counter, wherever appropriate. We often escalate to ad networks, payment processors, or web hosts. Of course, there are limits to that, and it does not always garner compliance. But we go the extra mile.

What kind of clients do you typically work with?

Why it matters: A provider with experience in your specific industry (e.g., adult content, influencers, photographers) is more likely to understand the nuances.

Take Down Piracy: We work with all kinds of clients: studios, independent content creators, clip stores, influencers, gamers, and sports entertainers, but our strongest expertise is in the adult industry. Nate, who started our company, has been in the adult industry for almost three decades, so that expertise bodes well for the work in which we specialize.

How do you avoid issuing takedowns for content you don’t own (e.g., scenes shot for studios)?

Why it matters: This helps avoid the common issue of sending DMCAs for professionally produced content you don’t have the rights to.

Take Down Piracy: We avoid bad-faith DMCA notices by knowing what we are doing! The fact that we verify infringements is already a step above some of our so-called “competitors.” I won’t name names, but when we told him we verified infringements, one DMCA service company owner said, “Well, that’s not scalable.” Well, do you know what really isn’t scalable? Getting yourself or your clients into litigation. Let’s say that the same owner now has a service that has been repeatedly named in issuing bad-faith notices, over and over and over.

Do you use AI or human review, or both?

Why it matters: Purely AI-based solutions can be risky. Human review adds accuracy.

Take Down Piracy:  Humans at Takedown Piracy review infringements for accuracy! When a company blames its tech or AI, they’re really punting what should be an overt apology, and promise to do better! After all, the company either developed or purchased the technology and operates it. If you know it’s not always accurate, the onus is on you to make sure the content is verified properly.

What are your pricing options, and do they scale with the number of takedowns?

Why it matters: Some companies charge per notice, while others offer flat-rate plans or monthly subscriptions.

Take Down Piracy:  With studios, platforms, clip stores, and the like, pricing is based on a number of metrics, starting with the number and average runtime of videos and how many they add weekly. For independent content creators, we (along with our tech partner) developed ClipSentry.com, which provides all our services for a nominal fee of $150 per month.

We work without binding people to contracts, too! Service is month-to-month (with a few exceptions), and our clients stay with us for years because they love our work, not because they’re tied into a contract. Some clients have been with us since our first year, and have never left!

Disclaimer: I wanted to make a special note to say that Take Down Piracy didn't pay me any money to write about them. I included them in my story about DMCA's based on my more than 20+ years of experience in the adult industry and my knowledge of how the DMCA stuff works. They included them in my story because they have proven themselves to be the leader in this area in our industry. They aren't some AI-automated robot scanning things; they are real people who put in the work to do things right, and I greatly respect that.

If you need help protecting your content, you can contact Take Down Piracy on X at @takedownpiracy or on the web at TakeDownPiracy.com.

And remember, it's your name these DMCA companies are acting on behalf, so think twice before you hire a DMCA company that could land you in hot water.