Justyna Dorsz

Etsy

DMCA takedown notice – form vs. email

My artwork is stolen so often that I need to send thousands of DMCA takedown notices each year.

To make the process as fast as possible, I use email templates. But most websites prefer to receive takedown notices via their forms. For example, every time I email a takedown notice to Etsy I receive an email asking me to submit future notices via their form.

Do they not realize that their form takes a few minutes to fill? Sending an email takes just a few seconds. I don’t want to waste my time filling out forms. I prefer to send emails wherever possible.

I can understand that Etsy prefers to receive filled out forms. They are easier to process. But I calculated that if I keep sending forms to Etsy, I will waste over a day of my life per year. And that’s just on Etsy. There are many more websites that I need to send takedown notices to.

If you need to send takedown notices, send them via email, instead of via form. Don’t waste more time than you need to.

Etsy accepts fake DMCA counter notices

The problem is:

  1. Someone is selling my art illegally on Etsy.
  2. So I file a DMCA takedown notice.
  3. Then Etsy removes the listings that I reported.
  4. But sometimes the infringers file fake counter notices, claiming that they have the rights to sell my designs.
  5. Etsy accepts those fake notices and restores the illegal listings.

I don’t yet know how to deal with this — I will need to consult my attorneys. Etsy is clearly accepting fake counter even though the notices are clearly not valid — for example, they don’t contain an address.

I don’t have a solution for this issue yet. I am simply writing it here to rise awareness. I know other must be facing the same problem.