The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”) provides a safe harbor from copyright infringement liability for “online service providers”, broadly defined as any “provider of online services or network access”. To take advantage of the safe harbor provisions of the DMCA, service providers must designate an agent with the Copyright Office. This used to be a paper process.
In May 2017, the Copyright Office issued a final rule requiring online service providers to register their designated agents (or in the case of those already registered, re-register) through a new online system. The deadline to register with the new online system is December 31, 2017, and designations must be renewed every three years. The online registration system can be found here: https://lnkd.in/eRmdfZv.
Note that failure to register and renew can result in a loss of eligibility under the DMCA safe harbor provisions. Questions about this or other similar requirements? Feel free to reach out to me to discuss.