I received a DMCA notice, what should I do?

Please Note: The following information should not be taken as legal advice, which Linode does not provide.

This all depends on the content itself. Do you have permission to host this content from the Copyright holder? Below I will break down what can be done to resolve these types of tickets.

I do not have permission to host this content

If you don't have permission to host this content, you must remove it. Linode allows a total of 96 hours from the receipt of the complaint for the content to be removed. If the content is not removed within that time, network restrictions will be put into place on the Linode serving the content. In order to have these network restrictions removed, the content must be removed.

I do have permission to host this content

If you do have permission to host this content, you can dispute the DMCA notice with a counter-notice. There are some rules in place in regards to counter-notices, though. A counter-notice cannot be legally served until the content is removed. This can be done by either yourself by removing the content, or Linode by applying network restrictions to the Linode, preventing the content from being served. Once the content has been removed, a counter-notice can be served to the party who submitted the initial DMCA notice.

A valid counter-notice must contain the following:

• A physical or electronic signature.
• Identification of the material that has been removed.
• A statement under penalty of perjury that you have a good faith belief that the material was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification.
• Your name, address, and telephone number, and a statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of Federal District Court for the judicial district in which the address is located. If your address is outside of the United States, this statement must be for any judicial district in which the service provider may be found, and that the you will accept service of process from the person who provided notification or an agent of such person.

Once you have completed your counter-notice, you can provide it to Linode via the DMCA notice ticket. If the ticket has already been closed out and resolved, a valid counter-notice can still be provided via a new support ticket.

Once Linode has confirmed that the counter-notice has been served to the party who submitted the initial DMCA, the content must remain down for a 10 business day window. Linode will confirm with you if and when this content can return.

The party who issued the initial DMCA notice may provide a legal requirement for you to prevent access to the alleged infringing material. At this point, Linodes involvement in the matter will end and this will be a legal matter which you must sort out with the party who issued the initial DMCA notice.