Brand Protection & Content Protection
-Takedown Guides-
Facebook Copyright Protection
A Guide To The Facebook Copyright Takedown Webform
Facebook – the all-purpose social media platform which can be used for sharing all types of media. From photo albums to live streaming, Facebook has all media types covered and as such, is a vital for all rightsholders to monitor and understand the tools available for intellectual property protection on the platform. The focus of this guide is how-to submit a notification for copyright infringement using the online webform – “Copyright Report Form”.
To report trade mark infringement, see:
A Guide To The Facebook Counterfeit Takedown Webform
A Guide To The Facebook Trademark Takedown Webform
Facebook’s copyright webform is DMCA-compliant and applies the concepts of fair use and the platform applies a repeat infringer policy. Whilst the specific details of the repeat infringer policy are kept secret to avoid abuse from rightsholders and infringers, accounts can be also be suspended upon first notice if the volume of infringing content is significant enough. The platform has been riddled with fake accounts and abusive accounts – and with the recent scandals, Facebook has cracked down on accounts not complying with their own Terms of Services. IP protection is taken seriously by the platform, with reported infringements submitted via the webform typically processed within 48 hours. Click here to access the webform.
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The “Copyright Report Form” start page is to confirm the reporter does want to file a copyright notification by selecting the “I found content which I believe infringes my copyright”. Selecting any other option directs the reporter to the relevant form i.e. form for submitting trademark infringement notification or to the help centre for support regarding the specified issue. Facebook has a large section dedicated to intellectual property rights focusing on copyrights and trade marks which can be found here. The link to the section is also displayed when selecting the copyright option at the start of the process. Facebook also displays a message stating the serious nature of submitting a copyright takedown request including the potential for account termination or even liability for damages caused if the report is made fraudulently or without due care. Select “Continue with my copyright report” to proceed.
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Four sections are displayed:
- Contact Information
- Content that you want to report
- Your copyrighted work(s)
- Declaration
Clicking on the radio button under each heading expands the section, each must be completed to submit the copyright notification.
Contact Information
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To submit a notification, the reporter must either select “Me or my organisation” or “My client” as noted in the requirements. Selecting the “Someone else” option brings a message to explain with a third party cannot report copyright infringement via this form. If reporting as the rightsholder, the form will request the reporter’s name and “job responsibility” – which from the dropdown the reporter can choose “Owner”, “Legal Advisor” or two ‘other’ options. If reporting on behalf of a client the form will request the reporter’s name, organisation name and “Your relationship to the rights owner”. After selecting the appropriate option in the dropdown menu under relationship, all the other contact information needs to be completed. The postal address can be for the organisation reporting if on behalf of a client. The box requesting “Name of the rights owner” can either be a person’s name of organisation’s name. The last box in this section is “Where is the rights owner based?”, providing two options – “United States” or “Outside the United States”. If the outside the US option is selected, the country must be entered into the “Country” box below, as the reporter starts to type the name of the country a live list will appear, select the relevant country to proceed.
Content that you want to report
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For the first option under content to report, typically “Photo, video or post” is selected. This covers both text, images and links in posts that infringe copyright. The “Photo album” option is less often used, but common examples are for bot accounts which scrape entire libraries of photos or stock images and upload to Facebook or accounts using an album as a catalogue to advertise counterfeit items. The “Other” option is interesting as entire groups, profiles or pages can be reported using this option. Whilst Facebook gives a warning message, and Facebook’s preference is for the reporter to only report the specific post or image that is infringing, there has been a steep increase in notifications for groups. Closed groups present a particular problem, as evidence of copyright infringement must be obtained, therefore joining the group to gather the evidence is normally the only method to monitor and then enforce closed groups.
The large box “Please provide links (URLS)…” enables bulk submission of infringing content. It is advised to only submit single content types together in a notice to avoid confusion and potential delay in the processing of the notice. This part of the webform is where most errors occur as users struggle to find the correct URL to submit. Generally, when navigating Facebook, clicking the date as shown under the account name opens the URL in the correct format to submit. Facebook uses a variety of URL formats so do not attempt to try getting all the URLs into a single format, as mentioned, clicking on the date will typically provide a URL that can be processed. On mobile devices however, Facebook advises to click “Share” then “Copy Link” if the date is not displayed.
The final option in this section is “Why are you reporting this content” dropdown menu. Typically, the first option “This content copies my work” is used for all types of works that are protected by copyright. The option “This content uses my name” can be selected, although the scope of this option is far smaller, it is advised to conduct research or seek professional advice before proceeding with a copyright submission based on this option.
Your copyrighted work(s)
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The dropdown menu requests the reporter “best describes” the work protected by copyright. The options do not include music or sound recording, to report either of these select “Other”. The dropdown menu includes most other common categories i.e. “A photo”. If selecting other than a box will be added to the form requesting “Please describe your copyrighted work.”. The box below must be completed for all types of copyright protected works, requesting an authorised example of the work, for music providing a URL from Discogs is advisable, for audiovisual content IMBD. Social media links, including Facebook is also valid, covering photos and other often shared categories. If the work is not available online the reporter must give a detailed description with some proof of ownership. The final option in this section is the optional choice of adding an attachment, it is advised to include attachments proving ownership, especially when an online version is not provided in the box above.
Declaration
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The final section has only one radio button, however selecting this button has legal consequences which are displayed beneath the option. Submitting a copyright takedown request is a serious legal process it is advised to carefully read the statements agreed to by clicking the option, which are the reporter has good faith belief the use of copyright protected material is not authorised, that the notice is accurate and under the penalty of perjury the reporter is authorised to submit the notice. To finish, click “Submit” and the copyright takedown notice is sent for the infringing content to be removed, pending review.