Copyright Infringement Claims and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)

Filing a takedown notice:

Pursuant to Title II of the DMCA, all claims alleging copyright infringement for material that is believed to be residing on Verizon's system or network should be promptly sent in the form of written notice to Verizon's Designated Agent:

Designated Agent for DMCA Notices
Verizon Copyright Department
1300 I Street, NW, Suite 500 East
Washington, DC 20005, U.S.A.

DMCA@verizon.com

NOTE: No other notices or communications should be sent to the Designated Agent, who is appointed solely for the purpose of receiving notices of claims alleging copyright infringement under the DMCA.

Specific requirements for proper notification of claimed infringement are set forth in the DMCA (see 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(3)). Valid notification must be a written communication that includes all of the following elements:

  • Signature of copyright owner or person authorized to act on behalf of the owner;
  • Identification of copyrighted work claimed to be infringed;
  • Identification of the material claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity and information reasonably sufficient to permit the service provider to locate the material;
  • Information reasonably sufficient to permit the service provider to contact the complaining party (address, phone number and, if available, email address);
  • A statement that the complaining party has a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and
  • A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the exclusive right allegedly being infringed.

Upon receipt of a valid DMCA takedown notice for copyrighted material residing on Verizon's system or network, Verizon will remove or disable access to such allegedly infringing material.

NOTE: There are substantial penalties for false claims (see 17 U.S.C. § 512(f) - providing sanctions for material misrepresentations of copyright infringement).

Filing a counter-notification:

If a notice of alleged copyright infringement under the DMCA has been wrongly filed against you, you may submit a counter-notification to Verizon’s Designated Agent. Specific requirements for a proper counter-notification are set forth in the DMCA (see 17 U.S.C. § 512(g)(3)). A valid counter-notification must be a written communication that includes all of the following elements:

  • A physical or electronic signature;
  • Identification of the material that has been removed or to which access has been disabled and the location at which the material appeared before it was removed or access to it was disabled;
  • A statement under penalty of perjury that you have a good faith belief that the material was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification; and
  • Your name, address, and telephone number, and a statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of federal district court for the judicial district in which the address is located, or if your address is outside of the U.S., for any judicial district in which the service provider may be found, and that you will accept service of process from the complainant.

Upon receipt of a valid DMCA counter-notification, Verizon will forward it to the original complainant who submitted the DMCA notice alleging copyright infringement. The original complainant will then have ten (10) days to notify Verizon that it has filed a lawsuit relating to the allegedly infringing material otherwise Verizon will restore the removed material or cease disabling access to it.

Conduit Notices

Any notice of alleged copyright infringement received in circumstances where Verizon acts only as a conduit, as in the case of peer-to-peer ("P2P") and other file sharing activities on an end user's computer connected to the Internet, cannot be taken down because such materials do not reside on Verizon’s system or network. See 17 U.S.C. §§ 512(a); 512(c)(3)(A)(iii); Recording Industry Association of America, Inc. v. Verizon Internet Services Inc., 351 F.3d 1229 (cert. denied 2004 U.S. Lexis 6701, October 12, 2004) (confirming that takedown notices do not apply when a service provider is acting only as a conduit providing Internet access, as in P2P). To address allegations of P2P and similar activities that are alleged to occur over conduit facilities, however, Verizon offers copyright owners two separate options for notice forwarding.

Conduit Notice Form:

Copyright owners may choose to use the Conduit Notice Form available for download in PDF format. Upon receipt of the accurately completed form for an IP address, Verizon will forward a notice to the identified subscriber containing the details of the copyright owner’s allegation, including warnings about the potential consequences of continued alleged infringing activity. The operation of bots to access and complete this form is prohibited. Verizon reserves the right to limit the number of forwarded notices per copyright owner. Verizon will not disclose personally identifiable subscriber information to the copyright owner absent receipt by Verizon of lawful legal process, such as an appropriate judicially-issued subpoena or order. Completed forms may be submitted to:

Conduit Notices
Verizon Copyright Department
1300 I Street, NW, Suite 500 East
Washington, DC 20005, U.S.A.

CONDUITFORMNOTICES@verizon.com

Verizon Anti-Piracy Cooperation Program:

Alternatively, the Verizon Anti-Piracy Cooperation Program is available to copyright owners to help combat online piracy, especially for those who may wish Verizon to forward on multiple conduit notices (where Verizon acts only as a conduit, as in the case of P2P and other file sharing activities). Verizon will forward notices of alleged copyright infringement (up to 50,000 notices per copyright owner per month) to the identified subscriber. Verizon has developed an automated system (“Notice Forwarding System”) for notifying subscribers that Verizon has received such notices of alleged copyright infringement. Through the Notice Forwarding System, Verizon will send to the subscriber a warning communication detailing the alleged copyright infringement as reported by the copyright owner and advising the subscriber of the potential consequences of continued alleged infringing activity. Verizon will not disclose personally identifiable information about a subscriber to the copyright owner absent receipt by Verizon of lawful legal process, such as an appropriate judicially- issued subpoena or order. Requests to participate in the Verizon Anti-Piracy Cooperation Program may be submitted to:

Verizon Anti-Piracy Cooperation Program
Verizon Copyright Department
1300 I Street, NW, Suite 500 East
Washington, DC 20005, U.S.A.

VZACP@verizon.com

For more information about these options, please visit the Copyright FAQ page. These two options are available for copyright owners to use to enforce their copyright interests.

We urge copyright owners to use the appropriate available process to address their concerns and appreciate their cooperation.

Repeat Infringer Policy

Pursuant to Section 512 of the DMCA, it is Verizon's policy to terminate the account of repeat copyright infringers in appropriate circumstances.