This blog has been a bit quiet over the last few weeks as I’ve worked on a chapter for a book on the future of intellectual property. I’m past the deadline (“Bad Writer! Bad!”). All my attention has necessarily been on that project. I’m getting closer to finishing that up, and then I should be back to my posting ways.
To hold you over, here’s a post from author Guy Anthony De Marco on how to use the section 512 safe harbor provisions to combat online piracy.
I will add that there is an even larger nuclear option available. I haven’t done it myself, so I don’t know all the details. But I do know more aggressive combatants of counterfeit sites (typically trademark, not copyright, infringements) have used this technique. You can challenge the domain name registration and get it shut off if the information used in the registration is not up to date or valid (name, physical address, etc.). This may frequently be the case in fly-by-night sites seeking to make a quick buck off piracy. It would of course apply to attempts to take down independent sites, not established intermediaries/retailers.
Writer-in-Law 