To clarify: the linked post is bout the DMCA safe harbor rules about takedown notices. This really isn't the bad part of the law. It can be argued that the takedowns are too easy to do and that they are honored too quickly by site administrators, that they are susceptible to automation and false positives, etc... But really that's not a huge deal.<p>Where the DMCA is widely reviled is in its other parts, most particularly the anti-circumvention provisions that, when the law was drafted, made things like security research or reflashing a consumer device <i>criminal acts</i> (c.f. the Skylarov case). It should be noted that this nonsense, while it's still in the law, has been significantly dilluted by a bunch of regulatory exemptions enacted by the executive branch.
The screenshots in this post are fantastic.<p>To me, the real LOL part of this was the image sprite...Sutton didn't even bother to change the name of the file! Just shows that they were totally thumbing their nose at Estately and the law.<p>Here's the screenshot of that: <a href="http://blog.estately.com/assets/Estately-images-on-Sutton_s-server-including-URLs-4.jpg" rel="nofollow">http://blog.estately.com/assets/Estately-images-on-Sutton_s-...</a>.
>learned to love the DMCA<p>This is a terrible title, and "I was thankful for one benefit of DMCA" is not the same as "I love DMCA."<p>I hope they don't really believe the DMCA is a wonderful thing just because it was beneficial to them in this one instance. I realize they pointed out that it has some horrible parts, but I get the feeling they don't feel that any reform is necessary.<p>Copyright reform is only becoming <i>more</i> necessary as time goes on.
I really don't think this is a good idea. If they don't respond to the cease and desist, get the court and law enforcement to <i>enforce</i> the C&D. Don't pretend that due process of law doesn't exist.
How is it a good thing in general that you got an infringing site taken down based on your word without it going through some sort of public oversight before removal?<p>This kind of thing makes the US horribly dangerous to internet businesses and now that you have done it to a much bigger shark than yourself, they will be gunning for you.<p>Imagine it the other way around, perhaps on something much more innocuous that is easy to miss. Would you rather a court case to decide an appropriate action against you, or your site ripped off the net, requiring you to then go to court to get it reinstated?<p>The speed that was so helpful to you as a startup in this instance is what will leave you dead in the water if you mess up, even accidentally, in the future (I am not suggesting that what was done to you was accidental, although many of their management may not have understood the details).