ByDid a Spectrum Copyright Notice Scare You? Here’s What You Can Do
Copyright infringement can happen easily without the infringing party’s intention. Many people are not aware of how copyright works and what copyright laws regulate. Even if they’ve heard about the Digital Millennium Copyright Law (DMCA) of 1998, they probably cannot explain the items covered under the DMCA protection.
When infringement occurs, the author usually sends out a copyright notice or claim to the infringer’s internet service provider (ISP).
Charter Spectrum is one of the biggest internet service providers in the United States. If you’re using Spectrum as your ISP and engage in intentional or unintentional copyright violation, you should prepare in case the dreaded notice appears in your mailbox one day.
When To Expect a Charter DMCA Notice
You never know when a dreaded Spectrum copyright notice may arrive. Those messages delivered by mail or email usually notify you that Spectrum is aware of improper copying or sharing of copyrighted content on your end and ask you to immediately stop further infringement.
Internet service providers send out copyright infringement notices for many transgressions of copyright legislation in the United States. The most common examples include:
- Copying original textual content on your website
- Downloading or using copyrighted images, even if you modify them
- Using copyrighted video clips or music
- Downloading movies, TV shows, music, video games, and other copyrighted material using peer-to-peer sharing software (torrenting)
- Streaming illegal copies of videos and music
Did you find a nice visual that would fit your latest blog post perfectly and added a disclaimer stating something like No Copyright Infringement Intended? It won’t work. If the author sees it and issues a takedown notice, Spectrum will be reaching out shortly.
Anytime a Spectrum customer violates the exclusive authorship rights of a person who learned how to copyright their content, one of the possible outcomes is a Spectrum copyright notice, as long as the copyright lasts.
How Does a Charter Spectrum Copyright Violation Notice Work?
In theory, the author needs to notice that someone is using their work without authorization first. Knowing how vast and popular the internet is, it seems impossible that someone will know if you use the latest Top 40 hit as the background music on your small website.
While no human being can catch all those infringement cases, technology does have that skill. Big copyright owners can afford to use bots and embedded codes to detect unauthorized use of all those photos, music, and movies.
Besides detection, the bots can issue automatic takedown notices to the ISP. The provider, such as Spectrum, then forwards the takedown notice to the end-user.
What To Do if You Receive a Charter Spectrum Copyright Violation Notice
Once the copyright notice arrives, most people start panicking. They fear the fees, lawsuits, or possible jail time. The best course of action is to remain calm and research your available options to deal with this issue. The list below provides some suggestions:
- Check if the copyright notice is legitimate—If you haven’t been abusing copyrighted content consciously, there’s a chance that the copyright notice is just another spam email
- File a DMCA counterclaim—This approach will work the best if the notice was sent by mistake
- Research the fair use doctrine—You are allowed to use copyrighted content under certain circumstances, even though the fair use doctrine leaves a lot of grey areas
- Consult the statute of limitations—Even though the courts don’t have the same attitude towards this rule, the Copyright Act has a three-year statute of limitations on copyright infringement cases
- Remove the infringing content—If the Spectrum copyright notice resulted from you using a copyrighted image on your website, it might be easier to take it down and use a free stock photo instead
- Hire a lawyer—It is a good idea to consult copyright law professionals, especially if the copyright notice escalates into a lawsuit
How To Serve a DMCA Counterclaim
Spectrum copyright notices may end up in your inbox or mailbox in error. If you believe that is the case, you can respond with a counterclaim. According to Spectrum’s website, a counterclaim should include:
- Your physical or electronic signature
- Exact mention of the material that was the subject of the notice of copyright infringement and the location where it appeared
- A statement under penalty of perjury that the subscriber has a good faith belief that the notice of copyright infringement was a result of mistake or misidentification
- Contact details of the subscriber including the name, address, and telephone number, and a statement that the subscriber accepts the Federal District Court’s jurisdiction for the judicial district in which the address is located
You need to send the written counterclaim to the designated DMCA agent. The table below contains the contact details of the current Spectrum agent in charge of DMCA notices:
| Agent’s name | Mary Haynes |
| Address | Attn: DMCA Agent
Charter Communications 6399 S. Fiddler’s Green Circle Suite 600 Greenwood Village, CO 80111 |
| Phone number | 866-229-7289 |
| DMCA@charter.net |
Penalties for Copyright Infringement
Copyright notices from any internet service provider shouldn’t be discarded easily. In the worst-case scenario, the copyright owner may file a lawsuit against the infringer. The only way to end up in court for copyright infringement is if the author or the copyright owner previously registered their work with the United States Copyright Office.
You can count on big entertainment companies like record labels or film production businesses registering their content by default. If the case ends up in court, these are the possible penalties:
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Civil penalties |
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Criminal penalties |
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DoNotPay Can Help Protect Your Work With Custom-Made DMCA Notices
If you’re in a position where a Spectrum subscriber is infringing on your authorship rights and you need to make them stop, DoNotPay will help you create a well-written and highly efficient DMCA takedown notice quickly.
DMCA notices don’t require paid help, but they should meet certain standards to be taken seriously. Our feature can save you from researching vocabulary and browsing for examples and templates. All you need to do is follow these few steps:
- Sign up for DoNotPay in any available
- Pick DMCA Takedown when you log in
- Provide the name of your work and the web pages where the infringement happened
- Confirm your identity and contact details
- Click on the Sign and Submit button
You don’t have proof of ownership? No worries—DoNotPay’s takedown notices will work even if you haven’t officially registered your creative content.
Why Stop at Copyright Infringement?
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