A notifier who sends a take-down notice to a website owner can be held liable to the poster of the taken-down content, if the notifier sends a take-down notice without first making a good faith determination that the content’s use of copyrighted material is not protected by the fair use doctrine. Under the Digital Millenium Copyright Act, 17 USC 512, an internet service provider or website owner may avoid liability for copyright infringement if it promptly removes or disables access to user content after receiving a “take down notice” telling it that the content violates the notifier’s copyright. This decision holds that the notifier can be held liable to the poster whose content is removed if the notifier sends a take down notice without first making a good faith determination that the content’s use of copyrighted material is not protected by the fair use doctrine.
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (Tallman, J.); September 14, 2015 (amended on denial of rehearing March 17, 2016); 2016 WL 1056082
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