How To Remove Copyrighted Content From A Website

How To Remove Copyrighted Content From A Website

You’re staring at your company’s branding that you’ve worked tirelessly to create. Except, this isn’t your company’s webpage. In fact, it’s one you’ve never even heard of. You feel defeated and appalled. This will look really bad and may even harm your business. You want the website taken down immediately.

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In the digital age, stealing someone’s intellectual property is easier than ever, and whether it’s intentional or not, it happens quite often. But what do you do when it’s your work that’s been stolen? How do you have the imitation removed? How do you protect yourself and your intellectual property? 

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Continue reading this blog for everything you need to know about how to remove your intellectual property from a website in case of copyright infringement.

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What is copyright infringement?

Copyright infringement is when a person copies, distributes, or displays all or part of a copyrighted work without permission or consent from the original creator. A copyright grants you legal ownership of these original works. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that people won't still try to use your protected content to their advantage. It’s important that creators of unique works remain vigilant as the responsibility of protecting a copyright falls on the owner. 

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With more of our everyday life and business moving online, copyright infringement is a growing problem. Thousands of scammers can be found using copyrighted materials online to fool unsuspecting customers. This can be devastating to your legitimate business and put your sales and your reputation at risk. If your brand has fallen victim to copyright infringement, it’s essential to immediately take down action against the infringing website as soon as you discover your content has been stolen. 

Confirm that the content is infringing

Before you go on the offensive, It’s vital to ensure that the content has actually been copied. Double-check that your content is 100% original. The last thing you want to do is make a fuss over copyright only to find out that you were the infringer after all. 

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Once you have checked all of your information and you’ve confirmed that the content is owned by you, it’s essential to gather all the relevant information you can. Make sure you’ve documented all of the infringing material, as well as proof that the content belongs to you.

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Take screenshots of everything and, if possible, download a copy of the website via HTML/CSS/JS and be sure to save everything as a PDF. There are a number of tools available to save entire sites. This can significantly speed up the time it takes for your DMCA request to be approved. 

File a DMCA takedown request

Takedown requests under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) have been around since 1998. The law essentially establishes a safe harbor for web hosts, where the web host is not liable for any infringement as long as they remove infringing content when notified. 

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A DMCA takedown request is an official correspondence meant to alert the proper sources of copyright infringement and can be sent to multiple sources. This includes the web host, but also extends to the domain registrant responsible for the infringement, search engines, and more. Anywhere the website can be found with your infringing content is a source you can send a DMCA takedown request to. 

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If you are a representative of your organization or are able to act in that capacity, DMCA takedown requests make it easier for you to file a complaint without needing to consult a lawyer. Before you can file your complaint, there are a few things you need to do first.

• Research: Before you can do anything, you need to figure out who the web host is that’s hosting the website that contains the infringing content.
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  A WHOIS search can help you find details about the domain registrant as well as the organization that hosts the website that violates your copyright.
  
  

• Contact the web host: Usually, the web host has an email address such as legal@, dmca@, or copyright@, as well as a contact form that can be used to get in touch with them.
  
  

• What you need: Before you send off your request, get together the work you feel has been copied as well as the infringing content. You may be asked to explain how your content has been infringed; the more information you can provide, the more it will benefit you. Finally, include your contact information.

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If your request has been successful, you can expect the content to be taken down anywhere between 4 and 48 hours later. The decision may take a bit longer when they need to investigate copyright infringement, but you’ll get a much quicker result if there has been obvious copying or fraud. 

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Filing a DMCA is generally the quickest way to have infringing content removed. However, it’s important to note that this strategy is the most successful if the web host is in the USA. If they are in any other country, this may not work. Additionally, it’s also important to note that the infringer can file a counter-notice which will have the content put back on their site.  

File a Google takedown request

Another problem with having your content copied is that your original content could end up ranking lower in Google search results than the infringed version. This is problematic for many reasons, and naturally, you’d want to have that issue solved ASAP. Well, it’s relatively easy to do: ask Google to remove the content. 

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Google has an easy notification process that you can follow in order to get the content removed. When filling in the form, you would put yourself down as the owner and then follow the remaining prompts to complete the form.

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Expect to wait a few days to hear back from Google’s system, and then they will start removing the infringing content. You’ll be able to keep track of the progress of your report on their web portal. 

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It is important to note that while filing a Google takedown request, the infringed website will only be removed from Google searches, but the actual website will remain active. 

Contact a Professional

Monitoring and protecting your brand's copyrights from infringements can be an overwhelming task that many brands just don't have the bandwidth to manage on their own. An experienced IP protection provider like MarqVision can help you navigate removing copyrighted content at scale. IP protection providers can also help arm your brand with the additional tools and resources necessary to help you effectively remove stubborn infringing websites.

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MarqVision specializes in removing stolen and infringing content. Using advanced AI to scan the web for infringements, catching them as soon as they occur, and initiating the takedown process for you. Saving you the stress and hassle of protecting your copyrighted material and ensuring you’re well-protected at all times. To learn more about how MarqVision can help you visit www.marqvision.com today.