Google Makes it Hard to Report AdSense Violations
I’m going to follow through on this because I’m just stupid enough to do so. But, I really wonder why Google feels it necessary to go this distance to kill off an AdSense advertiser. Well, no I don’t. There’s money in it for them. But still…
Let’s start with the email I just got:
Hello,
Thank you for your note. It is our policy to respond to notices of alleged infringement that comply with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (the text of which can be found at the U.S. Copyright Office website: http://www.copyright.gov/) and other applicable intellectual property laws. In this case, this means that if we receive proper notice of infringement, we will forward that notice to the responsible web site publisher.
To file a notice of infringement with us, you must provide a written communication (by fax or regular mail, not by email) that sets forth the items specified below. Please note that pursuant to that Act, you may be liable to the alleged infringer for damages (including costs and attorneys’ fees) if you materially misrepresent that you own an item when you in fact do not. Accordingly, if you are not sure whether you have the right to request removal from our service, we suggest that you first contact an attorney.
To expedite our ability to process your request, please use the following format (including section numbers):
1. Identify in sufficient detail the copyrighted work that you believe has been infringed upon. For example, “The copyrighted work at issue is the text that appears on http://www.legal.com/legal_page.html.”
2. Identify the material that you claim is infringing upon the copyrighted work listed in item #1 above. You must identify each page that allegedly contains infringing material by providing its URL.
3. Provide information reasonably sufficient to permit Google to contact you (email address is preferred).
4. Include the following statement: “I have a good faith belief that use of the copyrighted materials described above on the allegedly infringing webpages is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.”
5. Include the following statement: “I swear, under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notification is accurate and that I am the copyright owner or am authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.”
6. Sign the paper.
7. Send the written communication to the following address:
Google, Inc.
Attn: AdSense Support, DMCA complaints
1600 Amphitheatre Parkway
Mountain View CA 94043OR Fax to:
(650) 618-8507, Attn: AdSense Support, DMCA complaintsRegards,
The Google AdSense Team
I need to send them a DMCA complaint? Whatever for? Google isn’t in possession of the infringing material. So far as I know, it’s not even in their cache or index.
In this case, it’s a page pulled from spamsuite.com using Feedburner in an attempt to monetize it. I doubt the Chinese will do anything about it (other than maybe beat another Tibetan or two). If nothing else, they would claim that being outside of the US, they are not covered by the DMCA.
Besides redistribution of the content is mostly okay. The site is under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License, and what I’m really doing is reporting it for non-attribution. Yes, copyright is now involved (my comments remain copyrighted to me) since the Chinese violated the terms of the license, but what the DMCA provides is for someone to take down the infringing content, not the advertising around that infringing content and it’s the advertising I want removed as I really have no hope that the content will ever come down.
So, they’re making it hard to report a site for doing what they ought not do by citing the need to comply with a statute that has no relevance.
Way to do no evil, there, Google.
MickC @ April 7, 2008