Leak Shield and piracy protection
DMCA takedowns for video creators.
What a notice must contain, and who sends it.
A DMCA takedown notice is a formal request, under US copyright law, asking a website or service to remove or disable access to material that infringes your copyright. It works copy by copy and host by host. This guide explains the process from the law itself and shows how Leak Shield sends notices for leaked films. It is not legal advice.
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By uncompressed.io · Updated October 2026
Short answer
How does a DMCA takedown work for a leaked video?
You send a written notice to the designated agent of the website hosting the copy, identifying your work, the exact copy and your contact details, with a good-faith statement and a statement under penalty of perjury that you are authorised to act. A host that removes the copy promptly keeps its legal safe harbor. Leak Shield sends these notices for you once you confirm a sighting. This is not legal advice.
- Sent to the host's designated agent
- Six elements required by 17 U.S.C. 512(c)(3)
- One notice per host, listing each copy
- Counter-notice can restore it in 10 to 14 business days
- False notices carry liability under 512(f)
- Leak Shield sends notices on confirmation, USD 99 a month or USD 1,188 a year
What the law requires
The six elements of a notice
from 17 U.S.C. 512(c)(3)
The Copyright Office says a notice must contain substantially the following information. Leave one out and the host can treat the notice as incomplete.
Summarised from 17 U.S.C. 512(c)(3)(A) and the US Copyright Office's section 512 page, read 12 October 2026. Not legal advice.
The timeline
How a takedown runs
from notice to removal
Find the agent
Hosts that want the safe harbor register a designated agent with the Copyright Office, listed in its DMCA Designated Agent Directory. Large platforms also publish their own forms.
Send the notice
One notice per host, listing every copy on that host with its exact URL and the six elements above.
Removal
A host that wants to keep its safe harbor removes or disables access to the copy promptly after a complete notice.
Counter-notice
The uploader may file a counter-notice. The host then restores the copy 10 to 14 business days later unless you have filed a court action.
6
required elements
17 U.S.C. 512(c)(3)(A)
10-14
business days
restore window after a counter-notice, 512(g)(2)(C)
3 years
agent designation
then it must be renewed, per the Copyright Office
Search engines are a separate channel. Google's legal help page asks for your contact information, a description of the work, each specific URL, two affirmation statements and a signature, and points to its legal troubleshooter to file (read 12 October 2026). Removing a result from search does not remove the copy from the site hosting it, so send both.
With Leak Shield
How Leak Shield sends the notice
from sighting to case file
USD 99 a month or USD 1,188 a year, any paid plan, not Starter. Protection reduces risk and makes leaks traceable; it cannot guarantee a film never leaks or that every leak can be traced.
Leak Shield covers films sold or streamed to buyers and members through your streaming platform. For a leak of a screener shared by link, follow what to do if a screener leaked, which lists the removal forms of the main platforms.
Not legal advice
Questions
Frequently asked
What is a DMCA takedown notice?
It is a written notification, defined in section 512 of the US copyright law (17 U.S.C. 512), sent to a service provider's designated agent to report material that infringes a copyright. A provider that removes the material promptly keeps its safe harbor from liability.
What must a DMCA takedown notice include?
Under 17 U.S.C. 512(c)(3), substantially: a physical or electronic signature of someone authorised to act for the owner; identification of the work; identification of the infringing material with enough information to locate it; your contact information; a good-faith statement that the use is not authorised; and a statement that the notice is accurate and, under penalty of perjury, that you are authorised to act.
What is a DMCA takedown service?
A service that finds copies of your content and sends takedown notices for you. Leak Shield on uncompressed.io does this for films sold through your streaming platform: it searches the open web and torrent indexes, and when you confirm a sighting it sends the notice.
Can the person who posted the copy fight the takedown?
Yes, with a counter-notice. If the provider receives a valid counter-notice, the law says it restores the material not less than 10 and not more than 14 business days later, unless you tell the provider you have filed a court action.
What happens if I send a false DMCA notice?
Section 512(f) makes anyone who knowingly materially misrepresents that material is infringing liable for resulting damages, including costs and attorneys' fees. Only send notices for copies you are sure are yours and unauthorised.
Does a DMCA notice work outside the United States?
The DMCA is US law. Many hosts outside the US accept notices in the same format, but they are not bound by it. Other countries have their own procedures; Canada, for example, uses a notice-and-notice system, in which an internet provider forwards the owner's notice to its subscriber rather than removing content.
Is this legal advice?
No. This page summarises the law and official guidance as published on copyright.gov. For a dispute, a distribution deal or a counter-notice, talk to a copyright lawyer.
Find the leak, name the buyer, send the notice.
Leak Shield searches for copies of your films, and when you confirm a sighting it sends the takedown notice and keeps a PDF case file. USD 99 a month or USD 1,188 a year, any paid plan. Protection reduces risk and makes leaks traceable; it cannot guarantee a film never leaks or that every leak can be traced.
Sources
- 1.US Copyright Office: Section 512 of Title 17 (read 12 October 2026)
- 2.US Code Title 17, Chapter 5, section 512 (copyright.gov) (read 12 October 2026)
- 3.Google Legal Help: Removing content from Google for copyright reasons (read 12 October 2026)
- 4.Government of Canada, Office of Consumer Affairs: Notices to Canadian internet subscribers (read 12 October 2026)