Articles

Copyright and DMCA articles: laws, court cases and platform rules explained

Plain-English background on the laws and cases behind online takedowns, from DMCA strikes and fair use fights to AI and copyright.

From the DMCA.com takedown team, including Julie Lyle, Takedown Manager · Updated October 2026

Not legal advice · DMCA.com is not a law firm

Articles

Background on copyright, the DMCA, court cases and platform rules.

Article

What is a DMCA strike?

What a strike means for your account, what to do about one and how platforms handle them.

Read article · 10 min →
Article

How AI is affecting copyright

What tools like ChatGPT, DALL-E and Stable Diffusion mean for creators and copyright owners.

Read article · 6 min →
Article

What is the Streisand effect?

Why trying to hide something online can make more people see it.

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Article

Revisiting Section 230

The debate over the law that shields online platforms, and what reform could mean for users.

Read article · 6 min →
Article

NFTs and copyright

What buying or minting an NFT does, and doesn't, give you in copyright terms.

Read article · 6 min →
Article

The Twitch DMCA storm

How a wave of copyright takedown emails left Twitch streamers scrambling for answers.

Read article · 7 min →
Article

Bungie v Does

How fake takedown notices put YouTube's DMCA process under scrutiny.

Read article · 8 min →
Article

Streamlabs v OBS

The intellectual property questions behind the Streamlabs, OBS and Lightstream dispute.

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Article

Yout v RIAA

Whether stream-ripping tools break the DMCA, and why the question is back in court.

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Article

Illegal for-profit streaming becomes a felony

The surprise provision in the 2020 COVID relief bill and who it affects.

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Article

Akilah Obviously v Sargon of Akkad

What the end of this long copyright lawsuit means for YouTubers and creators.

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Article

Mahlmann v Thunderf00t

A legal threat over 15 seconds of video, and what it says about fair use.

Read article · 11 min →
Article

The Java wars: Oracle v Google

Our look at the $8 billion copyright fight and how the Supreme Court settled it.

Read article · 7 min →

These articles are free to read and share. They're general information, not legal advice. DMCA.com is a content protection and takedown service, not a law firm.

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