The DMCA (or Digital Millenium Copyright Act) is the American law which governs all matters of digital copyright and the internet. The DMCA is important as it shields community platforms from liability over user generated content. It is the reason why sites like Facebook, YouTube, Reddit and Twitter are able to operate without being sued over content posted by individual users.

We have always followed the guidelines set forth by the DMCA, but until now were not registered with the US Copyright Office. We had not been registered since we never hosted nor direct linked to any form of protected content, nor are we located in the United States. Unfortunately, as many sites have learned the hard way, DMCA protections are only valid if you are registered with the US Copyright Office, and renew annually.

As of yesterday, we have hired a DMCA agent and are now officially registered with the US Copyright Office. This means that we are now (or at least should be) protected from liability over user generated content. This is a big step towards ensuring the longevity of our community by preventing copyright bullies from taking frivolous legal action against us in the future.

We would like to thank IncorporateNow for acting as our registered DMCA agent, and for giving us compassionate pricing due in order to alleviate our financial restraints. If you run any sort of web site or service that allows individual users to create, share or upload content – you should really consider registering with the US Copyright Office before you end up in court over something which you had no control over.

Now all we have to worry about is countries like Canada which are living in the stone ages when it comes to digital copyright registration and intermediary liability.