Removing defamatory content from archive dot org

[John Yeirin]

Jurisdiction

California

Hello,

Long time ago I had posted some unflattering posts on Usenet which over the years expired (in the sense that it is outside the max retention time of almost all usenet servers), but the messages have been archived by a_r_c_h_i_v_e_._o_r_g. I sent them a DMCA takedown request claiming automatic copyright of the messages by way of authorship, but they haven't acted on it. Firstly, are they required to remove this content by law? What are my legal options here? Is there some lawyer here who has experience with this archiving organization and its practices?

Does anyone here have experience in dealing with archive.org to remove abusive / defamatory content from one of their archived collections? Their removal policy seems pretty vague.

 

[adjusterjack]

Firstly, are they required to remove this content by law?

Probably not. You consented when you posted it.

What are my legal options here? Is there some lawyer here who has experience with this archiving organization and its practices?

I'm sure that there are tons of IP attorneys in California that you can ask.

 

[welkin]

I sent them a DMCA takedown request claiming automatic copyright of the messages by way of authorship, but they haven't acted on it.

The reason they haven't acted on your request is that there is no copyright infringement. You authored the posts and there is no infringer but you, so to speak.