DMCA in Action: How It Works in 2025

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Jan 30, 2025
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Game developers face piracy, clones, and unauthorized distribution. The DMCA offers a powerful way to protect your work without legal battles. Let's figure out how to use takedown notices to safeguard your game and keep your intellectual property secure.

DMCA in Action: How It Works in 2025

The Context

Every game developer dreams of creating a global hit, but that dream often comes with its share of challenges—both financial and emotional. The time and effort put into creating a game become the very foundation of its potential success. As the gaming industry continues to thrive, with digital distribution now accounting for 95% of its total revenue (with the remaining 5% being physical copies), it becomes ever more important to protect these creations. Unfortunately, where there is success, there is also temptation—leading some to exploit the hard work of others.

What We’re Protecting Against:

--> Imitation: The rise of cloned games, often with strikingly similar designs and mechanics.

--> Unauthorized Copies: The act of releasing a game under a different brand, capitalizing on another’s fame.

--> Decompiling and Repackaging: Extracting game code for unauthorized use, often hidden under a new title.

--> Piracy: Simple distribution of games without proper authorization, undermining the developers’ rights.

Countries around the world have been striving to protect creators’ intellectual property, and one of the most effective tools has been the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Enacted in 1998, the DMCA has proven its durability, continuing to shield the rights of game developers into 2025.

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The Mechanics of DMCA

The DMCA offers a simple yet effective approach for game developers seeking to safeguard their creations online. It ensures a fair balance between the rights of content creators and online service providers. Here’s how it works:

--> For Game Creators
The DMCA empowers game developers to eliminate unauthorized content from the internet—without the need for legal proceedings.

--> For Online Platforms
The law provides a protective shield for online service providers, such as website owners and hosting platforms, offering them legal immunity as long as they swiftly act to remove infringing material once they are notified.

When Can You Use the DMCA?

If you hold the rights to a game and find that someone is utilizing an online platform to:

  1. Distribute protected content without permission
  2. Access protected content without authorization
  3. You have the option to file a DMCA takedown notice.

How Can a DMCA Takedown Notice Be Filed?

If you discover infringing content on a platform, you need to submit a formal takedown request to the platform owner or host.

Note: The DMCA is only applicable to copyright violations — not trademark issues. For trademark infringements, separate procedures apply (common with online stores).

How to File a DMCA Takedown Notice?

If you need to alert a platform about infringing content, you must send them a formal takedown notice. Here’s how to do it:

Locate the Right Contact

Find the contact information or a takedown form on the intermediary’s website. Major platforms like Apple, Google, and Steam provide ready-made forms:

Compose the Takedown Notice

If no form is available, you can create your own. Use the templates provided by these companies as a guide to ensure your notice meets all DMCA requirements.

Pro Tip: While registering your copyright isn’t required for a takedown notice, it can help speed up the process and increase your chances of success.

Once the intermediary receives your notice:

  • They are required to remove or block access to the infringing content promptly.
  • Online platforms usually act quickly to comply and avoid any legal risks.

A Global Reach

Although the DMCA is U.S.-based, many international companies honor DMCA notices and take action just as effectively. The law has a far-reaching impact on the global internet ecosystem.

How DMCA Works in Practice

Is DMCA effective in real-life scenarios? Absolutely. The volume of requests for content removal has steadily risen year after year. For example, GitHub data shows that in 2023, the number of takedown notices increased by 10.1% compared to 2022, 78% compared to 2021, and 84.5% compared to 2020.

While this might seem unusual—after all, many see Wordle as a timeless concept, like Tetris—The New York Times isn’t alone in using DMCA for protection. Nintendo, for instance, has filed thousands of takedown requests to safeguard its IP, including over 8,500 against Yuzu, an emulator.

But DMCA isn’t just for protecting big brands. Indie developers are also using it in disputes. One indie creator even filed a DMCA takedown on their own game, The Outbound Ghost, after issues with an unfinished release.

While effective, the DMCA process isn’t immune to manipulation. For instance, in 2022, the soundtrack of the game Dustforce was mistakenly removed from Spotify and Apple Music due to a bogus DMCA claim. Unfortunately, the takedown system can sometimes respond too quickly, leading to unintended consequences.

DMCA is also essential when it comes to code leaks. One notable example was the takedown request filed by Warner Bros. in 2022 for the source code of Mortal Kombat II, which was illegally posted on GitHub. Despite the takedown, the code was quickly downloaded and circulated, highlighting the challenges in controlling such leaks.

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Conclusion

DMCA is an indispensable tool for game developers aiming to protect their intellectual property. While not perfect—especially in cases of misuse or delayed responses—it remains one of the most effective legal safeguards for creators. For any developer, understanding and utilizing DMCA is crucial for maintaining control over their work and preventing exploitation by others.

In the ever-evolving digital landscape, the role of DMCA in upholding the rights of developers cannot be overstated, offering a pathway to both swift protection and legal peace of mind.

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