Dealing with a copyright infringement on a website using Cloudflare’s obfuscation services?
It can be particularly daunting to address stolen content when the website hides behind privacy services, but it’s not impossible. With the right tools, you can take the proper steps to protect your brand.
As a leader in online brand protection, Red Points offers expert takedown services for thousands of clients, even on tough cases involving Cloudflare privacy services. Follow our guide to learn how to quickly and efficiently file a Cloudflare DMCA takedown and address potential challenges in the process.
How do I submit a DMCA takedown request to Cloudflare?
Cloudflare provides a dedicated form to report any kind of abuse on a site using their services. Follow these steps to begin the takedown process:
- Access the abuse report
- Identify the type of abuse you are reporting
- Fill out the required fields
- Attach supporting evidence
- Review and submit
Step 1: Access the abuse report
Use the Cloudflare abuse report, the link to which can be found in the Cloudflare abuse policy hub, to file a DMCA notice on a site using their services.
Step 2: Identify the type of abuse you are reporting
Using the drop-down menu specifying “Choose an abuse type,” select “Copyright infringement & DMCA violations.”
Step 3: Fill out the required fields
Complete the required fields with the information requested in the form. Cloudflare specifies that all Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) requests submitted via their abuse form must provide the following information:
- Proof of the copyright infringement via links to the offending material
- Proof that you are the rightful copyright owner of the stolen content
- Your contact information, which will also be provided to the web host, and possibly the individual who registered the domain
Step 4: Attach supporting evidence
Include the clearest evidence possible to prove your copyright infringement claim in the boxes provided via the Cloudflare abuse form.
When providing evidence of the infringement, include the URL(s) where it occurs and a description of exactly where on the page the infringement can be found.
This specificity leaves less room for error upon internal review and will ensure your takedown request is approved as quickly as possible.
Step 5: Review and submit
To complete your Cloudflare DMCA takedown, confirm that you are the rightful copyright owner (or authorized party) and are acting in good faith. Provide your electronic signature agreeing that the information is accurate.
Before submitting, review your details to ensure the content meets copyright infringement criteria and that your evidence is accurate and detailed. Inaccurate submissions may lead to delays, denials, or counterclaims.
What does Cloudflare do after receiving a DMCA takedown request?
Once Cloudflare receives your takedown request, they review the information to ensure it complies with legal requirements. If your request is found valid, Cloudflare will take steps to notify the pirates involved and assist you in getting the infringing content removed.
Cloudflare’s role after a DMCA report is verified
Unfortunately—unless in the rare case that Cloudflare is hosting the site with the infringing content—Cloudflare itself won’t be able to remove the infringing content.
Instead, Cloudflare will forward your complaint to the website operator and the hosting provider. These parties will then be responsible for taking action to remove the copyright infringement(s).
Cloudflare will also provide you with the information of the website owner and hosting provider so that you can follow up with these parties and provide additional information, if necessary.
How long does it take to hear back after you submit a DMCA request on Cloudflare?
The timeline for follow-up correspondence from Cloudflare depends on the information provided in your report, and whether your claim can be substantiated.
If you provided sufficient evidence, Cloudflare could approve your report quickly—sometimes a few hours after submission. If the evidence is unclear and further investigation is required, however, this process can drag on for days.
Be sure to include all the evidence you have in the clearest way possible when submitting your report to avoid these delays and ensure the stolen content doesn’t remain active.
Possible outcomes after you file a DMCA notice on Cloudflare
Once Cloudflare notifies the infringing website owner and host provider, they will be responsible for removing the infringing content. In the best-case scenario, they will review the takedown and remove the infringing content immediately.
Unfortunately, web hosts aren’t always compliant, or may need additional information to remove the infringing content. Be sure to respond to any correspondence from the host as quickly as possible to ensure an efficient takedown.
Sometimes, the website host may also have issues identifying the IP address of the website in question because of Cloudflare’s IP obfuscation services. In this case, you can reach out to Cloudflare to provide this information or use SecurityTrails to quickly access that information.
What if the infringing content is still online after filing a DMCA request?
Your request may have been rejected
If you don’t hear back from Cloudflare after filing your DMCA takedown, your report may have been denied. This is likely due to a lack of sufficient evidence or incorrect information provided via your report.
Review the information you provided and check for accuracy. If you find an error in your report, make note of the correction and refile.
If you find no outright errors, you may simply need to provide more information. Collect the proper URLs and provide further description in a new Cloudflare abuse report, then resubmit.
How to deal with unresponsive host providers
If the hosting provider is non-compliant or delays response, you’ll need to take further action to remove the infringement. Start by contacting the website host directly, and completing any official DMCA takedown forms the host provides.
If the host is still unresponsive, it is likely time to hire legal help or turn to a brand protection service like Red Points to upscale your efforts.
Handling Cloudflare counter-notices
Remain vigilant even if your takedown is approved and the infringing content is removed. The website owner who violated your copyright may file a counter-notice to negate your takedown.
While they will have to provide evidence that an infringement did not occur, they may be able to appear as they are the original owner of the content. In this case, the website host could reinstate the stolen content.
There also won’t be anything stopping the website owner from simply re-uploading the content they stole in the first place. In either scenario, you’ll need to act fast to resubmit a new DMCA takedown request.
How can Red Points help scale DMCA takedowns across platforms?
Responding to a single copyright infringement online is challenging enough, especially when services like Cloudflare may limit direct access to the information needed for enforcement. Protecting your brand across multiple platforms and websites without the right tools can quickly become overwhelming and inefficient. That’s where Red Points comes in.
Our automated brand protection software, paired with expert support, simplifies the takedown process and empowers you to scale your efforts as your business grows.
Red Points helps address each of the key challenges of scaling DMCA takedown requests to provide superior protection for your brand and content across the web.
Challenges of scaling your takedown requests
As your brand grows, so does the need for online content removal. This increase in infringements leads to many challenges that can overwhelm even the most resourceful times, which Red Points can eliminate.
Monitoring multiple platforms
From websites with vital information hidden behind services like Cloudflare to ecommerce sites and social media platforms where stolen content runs rampant, infringement can occur anywhere. Tracking unauthorized content across such a vast digital landscape is a time-consuming and resource-intensive task.
How Red Points can help:
With AI-driven software that constantly scans for, identifies, and takes down infringements across thousands of platforms, Red Points ensures no infringement goes undetected.
Managing high volumes of infringement cases
Each infringement your brand encounters takes valuable time and resources away from your business and team. When facing hundreds, or even thousands, of infringement cases, it can feel like a never-ending issue that only continues to spiral out of control. Without the right tools, handling this volume can quickly overwhelm your team.
How Red Points can help:
With tools that streamline the DMCA process, including pre-filled templates and automatic detection, Red Points can handle mass amounts of takedowns with ease.
Prioritizing and enforcing high-impact cases
Not all infringement cases carry the same weight. Focusing on the most damaging cases, such as those that hurt revenue or brand reputation, is critical to making the best use of your resources.
However, it can be difficult to determine which infringements take priority when dealing with multiple listings across various platforms.
How Red Points can help:
With a customizable system, Red Points automatically prioritizes the most damaging infringement cases based on factors like platform, financial impact, audience size, or repeat offenses. This way, you can rest assured every infringement will be dealt with in the order of greatest importance.
Handling repeat offenders and scaling enforcement across platforms
Repeat offenders and addressing infringements across various platforms, sites, and marketplaces can be some of the biggest challenges in combating online infringement.
Persistent violators often adapt their methods, making manual tracking and enforcement ineffective over time. Scaling enforcements to keep up with these offenders, while simultaneously tracking and managing new cases across platforms, requires robust and efficient tools and systems.
How Red Points can help
Automated tracking of repeat infringers
Red Points eliminates lost time and human error with automated software that flags and tracks repeat infringers to ensure they are prioritized and dealt with swiftly.
Centralized dashboard for seamless oversight
Managing takedowns across multiple platforms can feel chaotic, and it can be difficult to track exactly where you are in each takedown process without a centralized source of information.
Red Points delivers just that, with a dashboard that allows you to view, organize, and take action on every infringement in one place. No need to juggle multiple tools or systems.
Integration with Cloudflare and other sites and services
With Red Points, enforcement remains consistent and efficient, with API connections with platforms like Cloudflare, eBay, MercadoLibre, and Meta, allowing us to configure data fields and speed up the reporting process.
Whether it’s uncovering hidden information or submitting bulk takedown requests, Red Points makes it easy to scale your efforts across all platforms where your content might be at risk.
What’s next
Addressing digital copyright infringement is a growing challenge, especially when websites use privacy services like Cloudflare to shield their identities. With Red Points DMCA Takedown Services, online content removal doesn’t have to be an overwhelming or time-consuming process, no matter where the infringement occurs.
Our scalable, automated solutions tackle infringements across multiple platforms efficiently, even when dealing with sites using Cloudflare’s services.
Ready to submit DMCA takedowns at scale? Request your demo today and learn how Red Points can help.
