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DMCA takedown notice generator

Fill in the form, read the notice. All six parts the statute requires, built in your browser. Nothing is sent to us or anyone else.

Who you are

§ 512(c)(3)(A)(iv) requires contact details, and they reach the other side.

The work

§ 512(c)(3)(A)(ii). One per line. A representative list is allowed for many works on one site.

The copy

§ 512(c)(3)(A)(iii). The exact URLs, one per line.

Fair use and signature

The good-faith statement has to account for fair use. Lenz v. Universal, 9th Cir. 2015.

Your notice

Not complete yet. A notice missing a required part does not put a host on notice at all. Still needed: the rights holder’s name, a postal address, an email address, where your original work is published, at least one infringing URL, a name to sign with.

Nothing here is sent anywhere. It is generated in your browser and we never see it. This is a document, not legal advice.

01 · What goes in one

The six parts, and why each one is there

A notification that substantially fails to comply with these is not a weak notice. Legally it is not a notice at all, and the host keeps its safe harbour as if you had never written.

Signature
Physical or electronic, from the owner or someone authorised to act for them. "/s/ Your Name" is accepted as an electronic signature by every major host.
The work
What was copied, and where you published it. If a single site has copied many of your pages, a representative list is permitted rather than an exhaustive one.
The infringing material
Exact URLs. "Their whole site" is not enough — the host has to be able to locate the material from what you give them.
Contact information
Address, telephone and email. Required, and it reaches the other side. Use a business address.
Good-faith statement
That the use is not authorised by the owner, its agent, or the law. Those last four words are the fair-use duty.
Accuracy and authority, under penalty of perjury
The sentence that carries the liability. Only the accuracy-and-authority statement is sworn, not the infringement claim itself.

Only one sentence is sworn

People avoid filing because they think they are swearing the whole thing under penalty of perjury. They are not. The perjury statement covers the accuracy of the information and your authority to act — not the legal conclusion that infringement occurred.
02 · Common mistakes

Six ways a correct-looking notice achieves nothing

Every one of these is routine, and all six are avoidable in about ten minutes.

  • Sending it to a support inbox

    A notice must reach the registered designated agent to start the clock. Support has no obligation to route it.

  • Listing the site, not the URLs

    The host cannot locate the material and is entitled to do nothing.

  • Leaving out the perjury sentence

    The notice substantially fails to comply. It does not put the host on notice at all.

  • Demanding money in the notice

    Not a § 512 element, and in some jurisdictions it is prohibited. It also reframes you as a shakedown.

  • Filing over a brand name

    That is trademark, not copyright, and it is the fastest way to damage your own position.

  • Skipping the fair-use question

    The duty to consider it is settled law in the Ninth Circuit. Skipping it is the exposure.

03 · After you send it

What to expect, in rough order

  1. 1

    Usually an acknowledgement first

    There is no statutory deadline. § 512 says "expeditiously", which has never been given a number, so anyone quoting a turnaround is guessing.

  2. 2

    Check it yourself

    Do not trust the email. Pages move to a new URL, and tickets get closed without action. Check again after a week, and after a month.

  3. 3

    A counter-notice is possible

    Under § 512(g) the host restores the page in 10 to 14 business days unless you go to court. That is the moment to talk to a lawyer.

  4. 4

    If nothing happens

    A follow-up quoting the original date, then the proxy, then a separate de-indexing notice to Google. The registrar is a last resort.

04 · Questions

About this tool

  • Is this notice legally valid?

    It contains every element 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(3)(A) requires, which is what makes a notice effective. Whether it succeeds depends on the facts being true and on it reaching the right designated agent. We are not a law firm and this is not legal advice.

  • Do you see what I type?

    No. The notice is assembled in your browser. Nothing is submitted, stored or logged, and there is no account.

  • Where do I send it?

    To the hosting provider's registered designated agent, which you can find in the Copyright Office directory. Our host lookup tool will tell you who is likely hosting the site and give you an abuse contact to start from.

  • What if they ignore it?

    That happens, and it is the point at which most people stop. The next steps are a follow-up, then a proxy or registrar route, then de-indexing from search as a separate notice. That is the part we do for clients.

  • Can I send this if I am not the owner?

    Only if you are authorised to act for the owner — an employee, a lawyer, or an agent with written authority. Switch the "You are" selector and your name appears as the agent. Signing as the owner when you are not is the misrepresentation the statute penalises.

  • Should I email the person who copied me first?

    Sometimes it works and costs nothing. Often it just tells them to hide the page, change a few words, or move it. If the content is commercially important to you, the host is the stronger first move.

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