More information about our DMCA policy

Please see our Developer Hub Article for the most up-to-date and in-depth information.

Developers,

We know that there was a lot of confusion last week when we posted about our DMCA policy. We’d like to provide more information about our DMCA takedown process and our repeat infringer policy. Compared to other UGC platforms, we receive a comparatively small number of takedown notices – on average, 5 or less per month. Hopefully, this post will answer many of the questions that have been shared.

As you probably know, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) is a US law that many UGC platforms (e.g., YouTube, Facebook, Roblox, etc.) rely on to protect against copyright liability. Our strict adherence to this law has not changed and it is detailed in our Terms of Use. To get the benefit of the DMCA safe harbors, Roblox must respond promptly to takedown requests from IP owners. Roblox must also act to terminate the accounts of users who are determined to be repeat copyright infringers.

If you believe you have uploaded infringing content, please follow the below process to have the content removed:

You can browse through the Create page to identify content you have uploaded. You can also use the Library tab to search for content you have uploaded by “Creator” name. If you previously uploaded content which you wish to take down, you can use the archive feature to remove this content.

As outlined in our terms of use, we have implemented a three-strike policy that is designed to punish repeat offenders who knowingly and repeatedly upload infringing content; this policy is also designed to prevent well-intentioned developers from receiving future strikes and moderation actions by providing them with educational and content removal resources.

If we receive a takedown notice associated with content you have uploaded, Roblox will:

  • notify you regarding receipt of the notice;
  • remove or disable access to the infringing content;
  • work with you to help you understand the definition of infringing content;
  • give you an opportunity to file a counter notification in compliance with the DMCA if you dispute that your content is infringing (this is like an appeal);
  • provide you with support to help you remove any other infringing content you may have uploaded; and
  • as warranted, assign you with a strike (if your appeal is unsuccessful)

Please note that after you receive a strike and while you are actively working with us to remediate copyrights issues (meaning you are working to identify content that we should remove from the platform) during a 45-day period starting as of the date that you are notified that a takedown notice has been submitted, we will associate any subsequent claims on previously uploaded content as part of that same strike (as long as the infringing behavior is not deemed egregious).

We will be reaching out to developers that have previously received a strike to provide them with the support outlined above to help them identify any infringing content they may have uploaded.

We are also working to implement new systems which will help developers more easily and effectively manage their assets (including this DMCA process). We will provide more information on these new features when they are closer to being launched.

Our ongoing success relies on all of us working together to respect the rights of content creators and comply with the DMCA. We are interested in exploring any ideas you have about how to make compliance easier for the community. Feel free to send feedback directly to devrelations@roblox.com with subject line “DMCA issues” or comment on this post.

Thanks for your patience and continued support,
Developer Relations Team

268 Likes

It’s great to see theses changes.It’s important to protect both developers and IP holders, as a member of both. I thank you for these adjustments.

Clarification is important and I’m happy Roblox is pushing for this change. As shown privately here on the DevFourms, I am very much supportive of this change.

26 Likes

This was the information people wanted upon this being announced. Not a week later.

But hey thanks for clarifying a bit more.

However I think having a button like we do with models, but with other uploaded items, the email seems to be a lazy attempt at doing so.

53 Likes

Thank you for clearing this up! Now I can be less anxious about this. (whew)

9 Likes

The clarity on the regulation is appreciated, but I’m curious to know - what would be enough to constitute appropriate evidence of mistreated property? As far as I know, on-platform evidence is the only form of accepted evidence and it’s quite hard to attain that when most activities are performed off-site. I don’t want it to feel like an absolute chore to get infringing content removed, especially given how prevalent such is.

7 Likes

How long do strikes last? Do they ever go away, and if so how long is that interval? I haven’t seen an answer for this anywhere yet.

30 Likes

Are the strikes permanent? Or do they wear off like YouTube strikes?

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Thank you for the clarification!

I however do not see anything saying how long strikes will last, are they permanent?

13 Likes

I’m very glad that this policy allows people with good intentions some more room for error. Regardless, thank you for clarifying!

5 Likes

Its excellent to see that counter-notifications will be supported in regards to takedown notices.

Thanks!

5 Likes

I am a little bit confused about this point:

Do we only get a strike if we appeal and its unsuccessful or do we straight off get a strike?

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I believe you get a strike right away, unless I’m mistaken.

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You get a strike and keep that strike if your appeal is unsuccessful.

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I think being more transparent (giving us stats & showing us a detailed process) about big changes like this is necessary. Thanks for updating us!

30 Likes

Would we be able to have someone in the team review any assets that may be copyrighted by sending an email to the one provided? Or is that email for things you are positive that are copyrighted.

5 Likes

I really hope the strikes aren’t permanent. I don’t think that would be reasonable

20 Likes

Agreed! Someone on here made a very good point about why perm strikes harm veteran users (accumulation of strikes over time), but I can’t find it.

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Does this mean that those who had their account terminated due to this new policy before the ability to remove assets was available will be able to have it reversed, or is there another plan to address that issue?

10 Likes

Alright, but what about people who have suffered from this policy already and didn’t had a chance to do anything about it (before mail was announced)?

19 Likes

Are there any planned changes to the website UI to show the number of strikes your account has accumulated, such as a small widget in the settings?

8 Likes