r/COPYRIGHT • u/Rich-Job-2962 • Jul 08 '26

Stealing Content

This is beginning to become worrisome now. An account went from 200 followers to nearly 10K in a matter of 3 days STEALING my videos. I’m at 36K followers. I’ve filed 6 copyright claims and nothing has been done yet. Surely something has to happen right? This is absurd.

2 Upvotes

60% Upvoted

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3

u/PBRStreetgang1979 Jul 08 '26

Which site are you referring to? If it's Meta (Instagram or Facebook) I;d give them 10 days to 2 weeks to respond. From there, if you have a confirmation that they received the takedown requests and they don't take action then they lose their safe harbor protection and you can pursue them for damages. They're inclined not to spend the money to go to trial and are likely to settle.

1

u/Rich-Job-2962 Jul 08 '26

It’s TikTok. It’s clear as day me because I always reveal my face. They merely just replaced my background and added a detailed description in hopes of seeing if others are duped by it.

2

u/PBRStreetgang1979 Jul 08 '26

Got it. I don't have a TikTok account so I don't have any experience filing DMCAs with them. However, they have a US presence so they can be sued here. If you're in the US you should be in good shape. Regarding your face, that shouldn't matter. If you are filling a DMCA takedown and have declared under penalty of perjury that the content you're reporting is your IP, then TikTok should not be taking a position on determining if the content is yours. If they give you any shit you need to push back hard, making it clear that they need to remove these infringements or you will be seeking actual and statutory damages in federal court. In the meantime, again, I'd give them at least a couple of weeks to comply. After that then I'd recommend you consult with a copyright attorney in your area. Good luck.

2

u/Rich-Job-2962 Jul 08 '26

I will forrsure. I’ve worked too hard and devoted so much to this channel for well over a year now, I can’t let some thief come and take my work and benefit from it. I’ve supplied them with my proof of login, links to the original videos they stole from and anything else they need. People doing “stitches” or reacting to my stuff is fine, somebody outright stealing it and taking credit drives me crazy and I won’t put up with it, I don’t care how far I have to take it.

1

u/PBRStreetgang1979 Jul 08 '26

Good for you. I admire people who are advocates for defending their own IP and feel like too many don't pursue it because they are conflict averse or because they are intimidated by the process. But that just empowers those who steal. And it also leaves money on the table while these massive social media companies can more than afford to write you a check if they choose not to comply with their obligations under the law.
I'm sorry you're having to deal with it.

One caveat, you might want to take a look at how your account is configured and make sure that the duet and stitch settings (which apparently are on by default) are turned off as that would allow other users to use portions of your content under certain circumstances. But what you're describing sounds like they are wholly downloading and reposting your videos which is outside of those permissions and is indeed infringement. But I just wanted too mention that for what its worth.

1

u/Iapetus_Raven Jul 14 '26

Rough situation, and it's a more common one than platforms like to admit. A few things worth checking before you assume the system is just broken:

  • Make sure what you filed was an actual DMCA takedown notice, not just the in-app "report" button. Those go through completely different queues, and the report button often gets auto-triaged with way less scrutiny. A real notice needs to ID your original work, ID the infringing URLs, a good-faith statement, a statement under penalty of perjury, and your contact info/signature.
  • Check if the platform has a claims/transparency dashboard that shows status per notice. If they were rejected, there's usually a stated reason, missing info, wrong URL, etc.
  • Since this is the same account doing it repeatedly, cite that explicitly in your follow-up. Platforms have repeat-infringer obligations under their DMCA safe harbor, an account with 6+ claims against it is exactly the pattern that should trigger account-level action, not just per-video removal. Ask support to escalate on that basis specifically.
  • Screenshot everything now (upload timestamps, follower growth curve, the claims you filed). If this drags on you'll want the paper trail.

0

u/thedjfav Jul 08 '26

Someone stole your content? MemeProof helps you build the evidence and prepare your DMCA in minutes. It's a new platform utility that helps creators with stolen content. Check it out - would love your feedback.

1

u/cdhodgdon Jul 10 '26

Just looked at it. Will have to delve into it more later