In 2020, the U.S. Copyright Office conducted the first public study of the effectiveness of the safe harbor regulations contained in section 512 of title 17, United States Code, under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) since it was enacted in 1998.
Section 512 details a notice-and-takedown system implemented to address online copyright infringement. The study finds that the section 512 system as it operates today is “out of sync with Congress’ original intent,” particularly in areas such as: “eligibility qualifications for the service provider safe harbors, repeat infringer policies, knowledge requirement standards, specificity within takedown notices, non-standard notice requirements, subpoenas, and injunctions.”
