English
The DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) put in place a series of copyright laws effective in the United States and recognized by WIPO member states.
As the DMCA can be challenging to interpret and is often exploited to bring down legitimate websites, here is a short explanation about copyright laws relevant to hosting and a brief review of OrbiTech’s policies (for our VPS Hosting and Dedicated Server Hosting).
The Problem With DMCA & Copyright Complaints
Tens of thousands of abuse complaints are sent to hosting companies around the world every day.
It is not always easy to determine which complaints describe real illegal activities and which are simply attempts to exploit hosts that won’t stand up for their customers. The latter works by reporting legitimate content as violating copyright or trademarks.
DMCA-ignored hosting provides peace of mind to those who host legitimate content but are repeatedly forced to remove it by their provider due to improper complaints.
Can companies ignore DMCA complaints?
Any hosting company that promises to ignore all DMCA complaints is a company you should avoid.
A provider that claims to ignore abuse complaints altogether is acting illegally and puts your business at risk.
But DMCA-resilient hosting is possible. There are things hosts can do to protect your rights as a customer, especially against the large quantity of misused DMCA/copyright complaints.
We believe in handling only legitimate, valid complaints — and ignoring the illegitimate, fake or otherwise invalid ones.
Is OrbiTech a DMCA-ignored hosting provider?
OrbiTech protects customers from the illegitimate use of copyright and DMCA complaints. Illegitimate use includes submitting reports for content that does not violate any copyrights.
If we believe that an abuse report is fake or does not represent actual infringement, we will ignore it. Plain and simple.
It’s not uncommon for individuals to try to strong-arm providers to suspend customers before any proof is presented. Instead, we stand up for your rights and require that complaints are handled “by the book.” We have lawyers too and we know how to use them.
To reduce empty threats and improper use of the law, our policy is to require that abuse complaints be submitted through postal mail. DMCA reports sent via email are generally ignored. In some cases, we may honor email complaints if sufficient proof is provided or if we need customer feedback on the complaint.
What if a complaint is received through postal mail?
We are not a “suspend first, ask questions later” provider unless the circumstances force immediate action (which is rare).
We will contact you and request feedback. DMCA complaints are rarely black-and-white, and we won’t treat them as such.
Is this what your business needs?
It’s rare to find a hosting company willing to push back against rampant abuse of DMCA laws.
At OrbiTech, we respect copyright law and will abide by it. While we never support copyright violations, we will help safeguard you against those attempting to abuse the law without evidence.
Since the DMCA is a U.S. law and not an EU or Latvian law, OrbiTech reserves the right to request alternative forms of reports from whoever is reporting the alleged abuse.
Note: Our policy for websites hosted on shared web hosting plans may differ. Please contact us for details.