Getting a domain suspended for copyright infingment

[andrewcfd]

Has anyone ever managed to get a registrar to suspend a domain name for copyright infringement based on the content of the site being hosted on the domain?

There is a site that has ripped off my content and we have lodged DMCA notices with the host, but they are based in Russia and just ignore our notices. The domain name, however, is registered with a US company, so I submitted a DMCA notice to them as part of their terms and conditions clearly state that they will suspend a domain name registration of "Domains and web sites involved in copyright and/or trademark infringement". They replied with a standard canned response saying they are not the hosts and to contact the hosts, etc.., etc... I replied telling them I had already done this (which I also put in the original complaint) and they just replied with the same canned response. No matter what I send them, they just reply with the same canned response.

So, the hosts ignore me and the domain name registrar say they are not responsible for the content of the site as they are not the hosts, but they have the power to take the site down by suspending the registration, as per their own terms and conditions. Without me having to spend a silly amount of money on lawyers, which I don't have, is there anything I can do to get the registrar to take action?

Thanks.

[JorgeV]

Hello,

based in Russia

Don't expect anything from the host :)

I think the registrar will not take the risk to block the domain name, because of a DMCA claim, and will wait for an order from a Judge, or a well formatted official notification from a lawyer.

This is not your case, but it's easy to submit "fake" DMCA claims, so if registrars were suspending domains resolution based on this, you can imagine the amount of abuses it would create!

Eventually, may be, you can contact the ICANN to submit your case.

Personnally, I think that the best you can hope, is to get the site removed from Search engines, which would be already a good thing.

Good luck.

[andrewcfd]

Thanks JorgeV, I have already got it removed from search engines as best I can, but as they add new content I keep having to submit new URL removal claims. I'll give ICANN a go and see what they can do.

[martinibuster]

Did you quote the registrars terms of service to them?
Did you cite their TOS where they say they require registrars to not engage in copyright violations?

Did you cite their DMCA policy to them?
Does it apply just to the domain and not the content published on that domain?

Did you find the SPECIFIC ADDRESS to send/fax/email a copyright violation to?

You have to jump through specific hoops that they outline.

[tangor]

DMCA is specifically USA, though other countries have similar controls.

International copyright infringement claims take much longer times to accomplish, though USUALLY, if you are persistent enough, you can get relief.

That said, there's always another out there who acts badly so this is a never ending process... and that is how "they" win in the end ... they wear you out. However, if you wish to remain vital you have to make the effort (and expense) to protect your IP (intellectual property). All nations recognize THAT as a determining factor---else your work will end up de facto public domain.

The biggest stumbling block is PROVING you are the IP holder, that it IS your property and THEY are infringing.

Just some thoughts.

[andrewcfd]

Thanks everyone. I have actually managed to get the registrar to suspend the domain by speaking directly to their CEO, explaining the situation and after they looked into what I had said, agreed it violated their terms and conditions. I'm not sure this will stick as obviously they will inform their "client" of this and I guess if they push back hard enough or start some sort of legal action, it might end up being reversed, but hopefully, it will be enough to simply put them off.

[JorgeV]

Hello,

Good to know you managed to do it! Honestly, I didn't think it would work. But it's great!

That being said, if you want to limit the risk of getting your content scrapped, you 'll need to invest time in identifying and blocking specific accesses to your site.

A good start : [webmasterworld.com...]

Personally , I block all IP ranges which belong to Data Centers (Server farms), and keep an eye on other IPs to detect unnatural behaviors.