What happens when your host gets a DMCA notice?

What happens depends on where your host is. A US host removes the material quickly to keep its safe harbor under 17 U.S.C. 512(c), then tells you and lets you counter-notify. An offshore host is not bound by the DMCA: at OffshoreServ the notice is logged and answered, and nothing happens to your server.

So what happens when you get a DMCA notice depends less on the notice than on who receives it: your host, a search engine, your CDN or your domain registrar. If you are choosing a host with this in mind, our DMCA-ignored hosting page lists our locations and plans.

How DMCA notice-and-takedown works in the US

Section 512 of the US Copyright Act gives service providers safe harbors from monetary liability for their users' infringements. For hosting, section 512(c) protects a provider that, among other conditions, does not know of the infringement and "responds expeditiously to remove, or disable access to" material once it receives a proper notice. The provider must also register an agent for notices with the Copyright Office and have a policy to terminate repeat infringers (512(c)(2) and 512(i)).

A DMCA takedown notice must be written, sent to that agent and include (512(c)(3)):

• a physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act for the copyright owner;
• identification of the work, or a representative list if one notice covers many works on one site;
• identification of the infringing material and enough information to locate it;
• contact details for the sender;
• a statement of good-faith belief that the use is not authorized by the owner, its agent or the law;
• a statement that the notice is accurate and, under penalty of perjury, that the sender is authorized to act for the owner.

Then the procedure in section 512(g) runs:

1. The host removes or disables the material and takes reasonable steps to tell you promptly.
2. You may send a DMCA counter-notice: your signature, the material and where it was, a statement under penalty of perjury that it was removed by mistake or misidentification, your name, address and phone number, consent to the jurisdiction of a US federal district court (for an address abroad, any district where the host may be found) and agreement to accept service of process from the sender.
3. The host sends the sender a copy and says the material will return in 10 business days.
4. The host restores it "not less than 10, nor more than 14, business days" after the counter-notice, unless the sender first reports that it has filed a lawsuit.

Anyone who knowingly and materially misrepresents that material infringes, or that it was removed by mistake, is liable for the resulting damages, including costs and attorneys' fees (512(f)).

What happens when you get a DMCA notice at a US host

A US host follows the routine to keep its safe harbor. If it acts in good faith and follows the counter-notice steps, it is not liable to you for taking material down, "regardless of whether the material or activity is ultimately determined to be infringing" (512(g)(1)). If it leaves the material up after a valid notice, it risks losing its protection and having to defend an infringement claim on the merits.

So in practice the material goes offline first, and you are told afterward. Repeated notices can close your account under the host's repeat-infringer policy. A rights holder can also ask a US district court clerk for a subpoena that orders the host to disclose information identifying you, based on the notice (512(h)).

What happens when you get a DMCA notice at an offshore host

A host outside the United States has no US safe harbor to protect, so it has no reason to run that routine. OffshoreServ runs servers in seven countries, and the DMCA has no force in any of them; our guide to DMCA-ignored countries covers what applies instead. Under our DMCA policy, we do not operate a DMCA agent, claim DMCA safe harbor or action DMCA notices as takedowns. When one arrives:

• It is logged with its date, the sender, the service referenced and the allegation.
• We reply to the sender at the contact address given, pointing to our policy.
• Nothing happens to the server: no suspension, throttling or editing of your content.
• We may pass the substance of the complaint to you in your client area, where that is useful and not legally prohibited. Dedicated and GPU customers can ask by ticket for every complaint to be relayed.
• It is counted in our quarterly transparency report, without customer data.

The exception is our zero-tolerance list, such as child sexual abuse material, malware and phishing, which is acted on immediately however it is reported. What can require action is a court order from the server's country, a local procedure or, in our EU locations, a notice that meets the DSA.

What can still happen

• A court order from the server's country. A valid order can require action in all seven locations. You are informed first and can respond, unless a court forbids it.
• A DSA notice in our EU locations. In the Netherlands, Romania and Bulgaria, a notice that meets Article 16 of the Digital Services Act is assessed on its merits, whoever sends it. Our Digital Services Act guide explains the rules.
• A section 43H notification in Malaysia. It gives the provider 48 hours to disable the material, and we forward it to you as soon as it arrives. After a counter-notification, the material returns no sooner than ten business days later unless the complainant reports a court filing. See our Malaysia page.
• A copyright notification in Iceland. Under Act No. 30/2002, a valid notification is assessed on its merits; you receive a copy and can counter-notify, and access is restored unless the complainant goes to court within two weeks. See our Iceland page.
• Search engine delisting. A DMCA notice sent to Google can remove your pages from its results whatever your host does. Google says it processes web-form requests in about six hours on average (Google), and a significant volume of valid notices can demote the rest of a site. Site owners can file a counter-notification, and Google may reinstate the link under section 512(g).
• Other intermediaries. A US CDN, registrar or payment provider can act on the notice too; DMCA-ignored hosting explained covers each one.

What happens if you ignore a DMCA notice

Section 512 sets conditions for service providers. It puts no duty on a site owner to answer a notice, and a notice is neither a lawsuit nor a court order. What silence leads to depends on where the notice went and where you can be sued:

• At a US host, nothing waits for your answer: the host removes the material anyway, and repeated notices can end your account.
• At an offshore host like ours, the server stays up. The sender may turn to a local procedure, a court or the search engines instead.
• In a US court, the claim is copyright infringement, not "ignoring a notice". Statutory damages run from $750 to $30,000 per work, and up to $150,000 if the infringement was willful (17 U.S.C. 504(c)); a notice you received shows that you were told of the claim. The Copyright Claims Board, whose awards are capped at $30,000 per proceeding, cannot hear claims against respondents who reside outside the United States (17 U.S.C. 1504(d)(4)).
• Elsewhere, whether a court can hear a case against you, and whether a foreign judgment can be enforced where you live, depends on your country's law.

A checklist if a notice concerns your site

Use this list whenever you find yourself thinking "I got a DMCA notice", whether it reached you directly or through your host:

1. Read it closely: which work, which URL, who sent it and which law it cites. A court order or a notice under local law is a different matter from a US DMCA notice.
2. Check where it went: your host, Google, your CDN or your registrar. Each follows its own procedure.
3. Check the claim: do you own the work, hold a license or rely on an exception that applies where you are?
4. If the material infringes, remove it. That is the simplest way to resolve the complaint.
5. If the claim is wrong, answer through the right channel, and weigh the jurisdiction consent before filing any US counter-notice, including one to Google.
6. Never file a false counter-notice. It is made under penalty of perjury, and knowing misrepresentations create liability under 512(f).
7. Keep copies of the notice, your reply and the dates.
8. Take court papers seriously and get legal advice where you live.

Frequently asked questions

What happens if you ignore a DMCA notice?

It depends on who received it. A US host removes the material anyway to keep its safe harbor, and repeated notices can close your account. An offshore host like ours takes no action on a US notice, but the sender can still ask Google to delist your pages, use a local procedure or court, or sue you where a court has jurisdiction over you.

What should I do if I get a DMCA takedown notice?

Read it, check whether the claim holds up and whether you own the rights or hold a license, and find out who received it: your host, Google or another provider. Remove material that infringes. If the claim is wrong, respond through that provider's procedure, remembering that a US counter-notice includes consent to US court jurisdiction.

Can a DMCA notice take down an offshore website?

Not through a host outside US jurisdiction: at OffshoreServ, a US DMCA notice is answered, not enforced, and nothing happens to the server. It can still remove your pages from Google's search results and reach US providers you use, such as a CDN or a registrar. Local court orders and, in EU locations, DSA notices are a different matter.

How long does a DMCA counter-notice take?

At a US provider, the material is restored not less than 10 and not more than 14 business days after the counter-notice arrives, unless the sender first reports that it has filed a lawsuit (17 U.S.C. 512(g)(2)(C)). Local procedures differ: in Malaysia, material returns no sooner than ten business days after a counter-notification.

Can I be sued for ignoring a DMCA notice?

Not for ignoring it as such, because a notice is not a court order. You can be sued for the infringement it describes, in any court with jurisdiction over you. In the US, statutory damages run from $750 to $30,000 per work, and up to $150,000 for willful infringement. Sending a US counter-notice means accepting US court jurisdiction, so weigh that first.