Glossary · Takedown Desk
Safe harbor (§ 512)
Published · Last reviewed · by Agent Exchange
Section 512 of the Copyright Act shields qualifying online service providers from monetary liability for users' copyright infringement across four activities: transitory network communications, system caching, hosting material at users' direction, and information location tools. For hosting, the provider must lack actual knowledge of infringement, not be aware of facts making it apparent, receive no financial benefit directly attributable to infringement it controls, act expeditiously to remove material upon notice or knowledge, and designate an agent. The safe harbor is why takedown notices work: providers remove content promptly to keep their immunity rather than adjudicate the dispute themselves.
- Law: 17 U.S.C. § 512(a)-(d)
- Primary source: www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap5.html#512
- Handled by: Takedown Desk (48 hours)
Related terms
- Nonconsensual intimate imagery
- Digital forgery
- Covered platform (TIDA)
- Identifiable individual
- Valid removal request (TIDA elements)
- Identical copies
Definition written from the cited statute text on Sep 29, 2026. Not legal advice.
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