The registration of an agent s name with the Copyright Office is a prerequisite to invoking the liability limitation under the Act. A service provider must adopt and implement a policy that provides for the termination of services to persons who are repeat infringers. A service provider is not required to monitor its service or affirmatively seek facts indicating infringing activity, nor is it required to remove or disable access to materials where to do such is otherwise prohibited by law. The Act provides for a mechanistic notification procedure which must be followed in order to take advantage of the limitation of liability. The service provider provides a copy to the complaining party of a timely counter-notice from the subscriber and notifies it that the removed or disabled material will be restored in no less than 10 business days and no more than 14 business days unless the entity notifies the provider that it has sought a court order for injunctive relief.
More detail regarding the notification procedure appears below.
To be effective, a notice must contain substantially all the information referenced above. Although the Act does not require it to do so, the service provider's designated agent may inform the subscriber that he or she may submit a counter notification if there is reason to believe the notification is mistaken. The Act does not require a service provider to monitor its service or to seek facts which would indicate infringing activity. The DMCA allows a copyright holder to request a federal district court to issue a subpoena to the service provider requiring it to identify the individual who is responsible for the alleged infringement. A subpoena may be requested only after a notification of infringing activity has been provided to the service provider by the copyright owner.