Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)
Introduction
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 is a federal law that Congress enacted to protect copyright holders from the unlawful reproduction or distribution of their works. It was enacted to protect copyright holders such as musicians, artists and movie companies. The purpose of DMCA is two-fold: it limits the liability of service providers whose users are infringing upon the copyright of others and defines the procedures necessary to report such infringement.
DMCA Copyright Infringement Notification
DMCA violation notifications come from a variety of copyright holders. The most common are the , , , , and .
DMCA notifications list the offender's IP address, the date the material was found and the name of the file that is being illegally shared.
Unless served with a subpoena as required under the DMCA, the university does not release the names of (or any personal information about) the offender when sending a DMCA notice. The university falls under Safe Harbor and is trying to protect the individual’s identity from being divulged to the DMCA.
This page is maintained by the Department of Infrastructure Engineering's DMCA Compliance Team
Email: copyright@kent.edu
Phone: 330-672-3929