DMCA Notice: What It Means for Online Course Creators and Educators

When someone sends a DMCA notice, a legal request under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act to remove content claimed to infringe on copyright. Also known as a copyright takedown notice, it’s not a warning—it’s a demand. If you run online courses, sell digital content, or host learning materials, this isn’t something you can ignore. Platforms like your website, YouTube, or even your LMS can be forced to delete your course, remove videos, or shut down access—sometimes within hours. And it doesn’t matter if you didn’t know you were using someone else’s material. Ignorance isn’t a defense.

Most DMCA notices target copyright law, the legal framework that protects original creative works like videos, text, images, and course modules. If you reused a lecture slide from another instructor’s paid course, copied a trading strategy PDF, or embedded a YouTube video without permission, you’re at risk. Even if you changed a few words or added your own commentary, the core content might still be protected. The same applies to digital content rights, the ownership and usage rules that determine who can copy, distribute, or monetize online materials. Many course creators assume that because something is online, it’s free to use. That’s a dangerous myth.

What you’ll find in this collection are real, practical guides from other educators who’ve faced DMCA notices—and how they responded. Some lost entire courses. Others learned how to audit their content before publishing. You’ll see how to spot risky material, how to create original content that avoids infringement, and what to do if you get a notice. There’s advice on using public domain assets, how to license stock footage legally, and why your "free" templates might be stealing from someone else. You’ll also learn about intellectual property, the umbrella term covering copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets that protect creative and business assets in education, and how to build systems that protect your own work from being stolen.

This isn’t about scare tactics. It’s about survival. If you’re building a teaching business, your content is your product. A single DMCA notice can wipe out months of work. But if you know what to look for, how to document your sources, and how to respond quickly, you can avoid disaster—or recover from it. The posts below give you the tools to protect yourself, your students, and your future as a course creator. No lawyers needed. Just clear, step-by-step guidance from people who’ve been there.