In a recent Opinion in Lenz v. Universal, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) "requires copyright holders to consider fair use before sending a takedown notification," and the failure of the holder to do so "raises a triable issue as to whether the copyright holder formed a subjective good faith belief that the use was not authorized by law."

The important bottom line is for copyright holders to use caution before sending takedown notices to schools and other entities protected by the fair use doctrine.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.