Re: Takedown doesn't work
Isn't the crrux of this that takedown has failed. Having the thing taken down doesn't get the copyright holder paid for the use of the content before it got taken down.
That is one of the issues. However, IMO the bigger issue is there there are no penalties for submitting false DMCA takedown requests.
For example, many people use DMCA notices to try and take down trademark-related content, which is a false DMCA request because the DMCA only covers copyright, not trademarks.
DMCA's are used to take down content that the issuer just doesn't like.
DMCA requests are issued by people (or organisations) who neither own or are agents of those who do own the copyrights. For example, WB has been using DMCAs to get "happy birthday" taken down, even tho WB never, ever, owned the copyrights to the lyrics of happy birthday.
Notices are sent without any verification that the content is indeed infringing, for example, DMCA's are sent over files named Spaceballs.wmv, without anyone ever viewing the content to see if it is, in fact, the Spaceballs movie.
As the article itlsef notes, Google recives nearly 3 million a day, and:
Google recently estimated that 99.95 per cent of the requests it receives don't correlate to an actual URL – they are automated efforts to pre-emptively prevent copyright infringement.
DMCA requests are required to specify, exactly, what is to be taken down, the URL, not "you have on your site a copy of Spaceballs, remove it".
There should be criminal penalties for submitting false DMCA requests - if you don't own the copyright, go to jail, if the content isn't actually infringing, e.g. it's only a file called spaceballs, it's not the actual movie - go to jail.