Forum Discussion

apraetor's avatar
apraetor
Icon for Super User alumni rankSuper User alumni
8 years ago

How is copyrighted content determined

Does Dropbox scan all user content for copyrighted content being shared, or does Dropbox only act if it receives a DMCA takedown notice? I am asking because my YouTube channel has received several fraudulent (and subsequently quashed in court) takedown notices due to content being submitted to their "Content ID" database by parties who lack legitimate ownership.

If I only have to be concerned about action by Dropbox in response to complaints then this is a non-issue, as legitimate ones will never be submitted and false ones are easily quashed when they do infrequently occur. However, if I have to be concerned about my content being scanned by Dropbox, then the soundness and integrity of the database being used by Dropbox becomes a consideration.

  • Jane's avatar
    Jane
    Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff

    Hey apraetor

     

    I understand your concern, we're here to help you with that. 
     
    To further assist with this account-specific issue, I'd have to ask you to raise a ticket with our team, since we'll require sensitive information that can't be discussed in a public Forum. I'd be glad to follow-up on your request. Please let me know a ticket ID here once you have written in on our official support channel, so that I look up for your request internally. 
     
    Thank you in advance for your cooperation,
    JaneA 
    • apraetor's avatar
      apraetor
      Icon for Super User alumni rankSuper User alumni

      Sorry, that was a convoluted question I asked. All I was really asking was "Does Dropbox pre-emptively scan customer content for copyright matches?" I'm betting that won't require personal account information, unless you specifically target certain customers based on demographics or some other factor?

      • Rich's avatar
        Rich
        Icon for Super User II rankSuper User II
        That's also the typical response when someone here doesn't have an answer. Rather than leaving the post unanswered, you're asked to open a ticket so Support can answer it for you.
  • SwanCobb's avatar
    SwanCobb
    Collaborator | Level 10

    This is not to encourage copyright infringement, but to explain how Dropbox's copyright filter/warning is currently handling sharing of copyright material. 

     

    From what I've read in forums, copyright content is flagged by the hash of the file or file piece (4MB)? Say you have a popular torrent (e.g. Top 10 Movie). If you share it on Dropbox, that specific file is flagged. You can store it personally, but not share the file. If you share a folder, that file is unavailable to download with a top header that explains some files can't be shared. You change the meta-data but keep the codec (changing the file hash) and a copyright filter/warning will not be triggered.

     

    I don't have first hand knowledge of the copyright warning/filter system, but this is what I've gathered from researched forums, blog posts, etc.