nancyb - 9:13 pm on Jan 11, 2004 (gmt 0)

There is nothing you can do to prevent someone coming after you!

I am there now. Did not copy, in fact my "general" information (which is in the public domain having been published before 1923) includes at least twice the information that another site has. Makes no difference.

Anyone who wants to can send your hosting service a DMCA letter alleging you have infringed. The way the DMCA is written, the ISP or hosting service has no alternative under the law but to take you site or page(s) down within a reasonable time - which means almost immediately - after receiving a DMCA notification unless you remove the material.

And, according to the DMCA, they do not even have to notify your first although, they must notify you afterwards.

You do have recourse to send a counter claim, but you are foolish to do this without first getting legal advice from a copyright/trademark attorney. If you don't know a copyright attorney, or can't talk to one right away, your site or pages will be taken down by your hosting service unless you remove the alleged material - almost immediately.

Doesn't matter even if your host thinks the claim is bogus. They can also be sued if they fail to remove the "offending" material or site.

Now, if you have deep pockets, it may be less likely, but if you are a small company with limited resources you are fair game because the cost to defend a copyright infringement on the internet, or anywhere else, is very costly.

go visit chillingeffects.org or anti-dmca.org. After reading a bit, it will prompt you to have the phone number of a copyright lawyer highlighted and starred at the top of you phone book - just in case. Be especially prepared if you rank well in search engines. The DMCA is being used by many (unscrupulous) people to stifle competition.