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Copyright in Lawyers Letter Used to Foist DMCA Subpoena
A U.S. Federal Court has found a prima facie existence of copyright in a lawyer’s cease and desist letter to support a Digital Millennium Copyright Act subpoena and takedown notice. In response to anonymous comments about Melaleuca Inc. and its CEO posted to a website, Melaleuca’s General Counsel wrote a letter to the apparent website owner demanding that the comments be removed. A copy of the cease and desist letter was also anonymously posted on the website. In a creative move to obtain the identification of the poster, a DMCA pre-litigation subpoena and takedown notice was eventually served on the website’s counsel for the purpose of seeking redress for copyright infringement.
To support the DMCA claim, the General Counsel’s letter was registered with the U.S. Copyright Office. Though the copyright registration process does not include a robust examination of whether copyright subsists in a work named in an application, the Court determined that the registration was prima facie evidence sufficient to support the DMCA process. Counsel for the website unsuccessfully argued that the letter fell into a group of works that is excluded from copyright protection under the U.S. Copyright statute (17 U.S.C. Section 102(b)). Counsel for the website also unsuccessfully argued that the posting was protected free speech under the First Amendment. The Court rejected both of these arguments.
For additional information, visit:
http://www.dozier-internet-law-pc.com/