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Prosecuting Cases Under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act

Since it was signed into law in 1998, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act has given many intellectual property (IP) owners the ability to track and charge those who would violate those registration.  However, given the very large numbers of copyright cases and materials that now fall under its influence, it can be hard to know just what sort of damages you can expect to recover in such cases when brought to court.

Unlike trademarks and patents that are protected by international treaty, the ability to bring suit against those who would violate copyrights differs greatly between country.  Some countries are downright hostile towards copyright cases, and materials to prosecute such cases can be difficult to come by.  However, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act does at least set a framework for prosecuting such cases.

What the Digital Millennium Copyright Act does not provide is any criminal penalties for infringement.  Nor does it give any assistance with detecting such infringements.  It is up to you and your attorney to bring both copyright cases (and materials to support them) without public assistance.

The most common use of the rights granted by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act is to send cease and desist letters, which given the provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, requires any web-master to removed content that could be considered an infringement.  Of course, this means that copyright cases and materials that support them need not ever be produced for the majority of actions.

However, if the cease and desist letter doesn't do the trick, you may be forced to consider bringing actual suit.  Here, you'll need a lawyer who is not only familiar with the provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act but, is also familiar with the evidence required to prosecute copyright cases and materials that must be gathered in evidence. 

Since the Digital Millennium Copyright Act also forbids the “cracking” of anti-theft software, if your work has been illegally obtained through nefarious means after you've gone to lengths to use software or hardware to protect your property, copyright cases and material evidence may carry far more weight.  As such, making sure you have done all you can before release, to protect your work can work in your favour in a court of law, demonstrating ill-intent.

Bringing a copyright cases and material evidence to court is a big step, but it can be worthwhile, if for no other reason than as to serve as a deterrent.  Though it certainly doesn't cover every contingency, especially in other countries, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act gives copyright holders another weapon in their arsenal against violation.