Group of Sites Announces Policy Against 'Unfounded' DMCA Notices

CYBERSPACE—Adult companies Stunner Media, Grooby and Yanks.com have jointly announced a new zero-tolerance policy against DMCA removal companies that file "unfounded" claims on their intellectual property. This move comes as a response to the recurring issue of such notifications, which the group says has had negative repercussions on their businesses and industry reputation. The three companies acknowledged the importance of legitimate DMCA removal companies that assist content creators in safeguarding their intellectual property. However, they said they have become increasingly concerned with the actions of certain DMCA removal companies that repeatedly file unjustified claims against content they in fact own. Under the new policy, each time Stunner Media, Grooby or Yanks.com receives a DMCA notification for content they own that is issued by a DMCA removal company, a standard billing of $100 per item will be imposed on the notifying party, a fee is based on the violation of 17 U.S.C. § 512(f). Furthermore, if the DMCA removal company fails to pay the imposed fee within 14 days of receipt, Stunner Media, Grooby and Yanks.com reserve the right to take additional actions to ensure the prevention of future unwarranted DMCA claims. These potential actions include pursuing legal claims for damages, court costs and attorneys fees based on abuse of the DMCA, exposing the infringing company's details on webmaster boards and social media, contacting the models represented by the DMCA company to inform them of potential legal consequences, reporting the company to Google for punitive actions, and making public statements warning potential clients about the poor business practices of the infringing company. Kenny from Stunner Media, Steven from Grooby, and Todd & Billie from Yanks.com assert that they have previously raised complaints with DMCA removal companies seeking resolution, but these efforts have been met with unfulfilled promises.  Their new policy is fully outlined in the open letter below:  To All DMCA Companies: We respect that you are running a business that is aimed at helping companies and models protect their intellectual property and rights. Some companies are far less diligent, poorly managed or just ignorant to the law, than others. We've received multiple notifications over the past 18 months from adult platforms, tube sites and Google that there have been DMCA's filed against us, for content which we uploaded to those properties and own 100% of the intellectual property (or in Google's case, links to content that we own), from DMCA Removal companies, many which are repeat offenders. Each time we receive one of these unfounded DMCA notifications, we have to spend our time disputing the DMCA and it can also have a cumulative negative effect on our relationship with platforms and Google. While you are in the process of making profit for your company, you are wilfully neglecting the negative effects on ours. With immediate effect, each time we receive a DMCA notification for content we own, from a DMCA removal company, we will be billing that company $100 for each item based on violation of 17 U.S.C. § 512(f), to be paid within 14 days of receipt. In the event the company does not pay within that time, we will look at what additional avenues we can take to ensure that this does not keep happening.  These avenues include; • pursuing legal claims for damages, court costs, and attorneys fees based on abuse of the DMCA.• posting the details of the infringing DMCA company on all webmaster boards and social media to inform others of the poor business practices of that company.• contacting the model that the DMCA company is working on behalf of, and letting them know the full extent of legal claims that can be made against them for falsely claiming ownership of property, and suggesting they find a DMCA removal company that shows more diligence and doesn't put its clients in potential legal jeopardy.• reporting to Google on the company in question and asking for punitive actions to be taken against them.• making a statement each time the infringing company advertises, attends trade shows or gets press from the media to inform and educate potential clients that they should consider other companies who are more diligent.• We've made complaints to companies, and been paid lip service on how they will correct it, yet unwarranted DMCA claims continue to originate from them. While we understand mistakes can be made, in claiming copyright (or stating we do not have that ownership) you are causing harm to our companies and the adult industry in general, and going forth we will have a zero tolerance policy on this. There is a need in the industry to have good DMCA removal companies, and they do exist. Thank you for your understanding and we truly hope that no further action will be needed. Any paysites wanting to be added as a signatory should contact [email protected].