EFF Launches Takedown Hall Of Shame

from the who-will-be-inducted-next? dept

With so many organizations trying to use copyright and trademark law to take content offline, the EFF is announcing the launch of its new Takedown Hall Of Shame, highlighting "the most egregious examples of takedown abuse." You'll recognize the names on the list -- as every one of them we've written about here. Who knows if this will cause lawyers to think twice before issuing bogus takedowns (I doubt it), but at least it should shine some light on how widely copyright and trademark law are abused to stifle speech.
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: copyright, hall of shame, takedowns, trademark
Companies: eff


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  1. icon
    ChurchHatesTucker (profile), 27 Oct 2009 @ 6:09pm

    And every year...

    ...they could have an award show and present the Streisand.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  2. identicon
    bob, 27 Oct 2009 @ 6:59pm

    The EFF Needs

    To ad condescension and mockery, like the pirate bay.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  3. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 27 Oct 2009 @ 7:38pm

    Any bets on how long until they are issued a takedown?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  4. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 27 Oct 2009 @ 7:56pm

    Re:

    Then the takedown would make it on the list.

    I presume that those who would be asserting the takedown know that it likely won't work. But still, there are many stupid entities out there that might try one. These days you never know.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  5. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 27 Oct 2009 @ 8:55pm

    17 USC 512(f) imposes sanctions for persons submitting takedown notices. Specifically, the section reads:

    (f) Misrepresentations.— Any person who knowingly materially misrepresents under this section—

    (1) that material or activity is infringing, or

    (2) that material or activity was removed or disabled by mistake or misidentification,

    shall be liable for any damages, including costs and attorneys’ fees, incurred by the alleged infringer, by any copyright owner or copyright owner’s authorized licensee, or by a service provider, who is injured by such misrepresentation, as the result of the service provider relying upon such misrepresentation in removing or disabling access to the material or activity claimed to be infringing, or in replacing the removed material or ceasing to disable access to it.


    There is a price to be paid for truly "bogus" notices, as has been noted and imposed in at least OPG v. Diebold, a copy of which can be found at:

    http://www.eff.org/files/filenode/OPG_v_Diebold/OPG%20v.%20Diebold%20ruling.pdf

    BTW, DMCA takedowns are properly limited to copyright law. Any such notice that is filed based upon trademark law is clearly outside the reach of the DMCA.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  6. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 27 Oct 2009 @ 9:08pm

    Re:

    "BTW, DMCA takedowns are properly limited to copyright law. Any such notice that is filed based upon trademark law is clearly outside the reach of the DMCA."

    I suppose this is how they get around the sanctions and are still able to either make others pay money in settlements or threaten to make them endure a long and expensive lawsuit, even if the entities being sued would eventually win.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  7. icon
    jilocasin (profile), 28 Oct 2009 @ 6:55am

    Perhaps EFF is hoping for a DMCA takedown notice?

    Perhaps that's just what the EFF is hoping for, some silly entity to serve them with a bogus DMCA take down notice.

    Since they received it, they would immediately be a party to it. They could show the world how they feel a take down notice _should_ be handled. As a bonus, since they obviously think the items they host were recipients of bogus take down requests in order for them to post it themselves, they can sue for damages and help establish the case law to allow others to easily successfully sue overzealous entities.

    From the EFF's point of view it's a win/win.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  8. identicon
    Vic, 28 Oct 2009 @ 8:45am

    Good for them! Long due...

    link to this | view in thread ]

  9. identicon
    Gene Cavanaugh, 28 Oct 2009 @ 9:04am

    Who knows if this will cause lawyers to think twice before issuing bogus takedowns

    So, using this reasoning, a waiter in your favorite restaurant should refuse to serve you if you order something that isn't healthy (or he/she simply doesn't approve of)? A taxi driver should refuse to pick up a fare because the roads are crowded? A plumber should refuse to fix your sink because he/she doesn't approve of your sewer system?
    GET REAL! An attorney works for hire - the HIRING ENTITY is the culprit!

    link to this | view in thread ]

  10. identicon
    Derek Reed, 28 Oct 2009 @ 9:11am

    Re: Who knows if this will cause lawyers to think twice before issuing bogus takedowns

    Following your analogy, I think it'd be more like the waiter refusing to serve you sludge from the sewer system, or the plumber refusing to mop up the shit you took in the kitchen. You can abstain the lawyers from all responsibility, there's some shit on their hands too.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  11. identicon
    jason motley, 28 Oct 2009 @ 10:31am

    take this down

    I own the trademark for hall of shame and I demand that you you pay me $100,000,000,000 USD or remove this site. you have 48 hours to let me know your answer.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  12. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 24 Feb 2013 @ 1:57am

    link to this | view in thread ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.