Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) 2.0?

Senator Tillis introduced a bill at the end of 2020 that would revamp the current "notice and takedown" system which allows copyright owners to submit infringement notices to online service providers. The major studios and record labels, who are big-time copyright owners, have been complaining that the same pirated material reappears online over and over again. Often these entities must file hundreds of takedown notices. I know because I've represented artists and went through this arduous and inefficient process.

The legislation proposed by Tillis would require service providers to assure such copyrighted material remains removed and does not reappear on another platform. The bill gives the Copyright Office power to determine whether service providers are doing enough to combat such piracy and potentially revokes the 'safe harbor' immunity from liability. Frankly, such legislative proposal would probably result in legal uncertainties for SMEs building the next generation online platforms.

Although the draft bill will likely not become law anytime soon, the release of such draft will probably initiate hefty debates between the tech and entertainment industries. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

In the meantime, Tillis has invited content creators, companies, digital media platforms, and other parties who would be affected by this legislation to submit their comments to Intellectual_Property@tillis.senate.gov. The comments period closes on March 5, 2021. You can read the full text of the drafted legislation here.