Aren't they reacting wrong to the DMCA complaint?
Shouldn't Cloudflare have some form where SteamDB could state "we don't infringe on your copyright" and then it's up to SEGA to take this to court?
Shouldn't Cloudflare have some form where SteamDB could state "we don't infringe on your copyright" and then it's up to SEGA to take this to court?
Not really.
I mean, yes, the DMCA provides an additional safe harbor for putting stuff back up in response to a counternotice, but most providers have structured their relationship with users such that they are certain to have no liability for a takedown-and-keepdown in the first place, so they have very little incentive to have a counternotice process.
The difference between safe harbor requirements and real legal requirements is that whether there is any force behind the former depends entirely on whether you have any preexisting liability for the safe harbor to protect you from.
Note that what they did really is fair use -- there are lots of situations in which people think that fair use extends farther than it really does.
Hiring a lawyer to fight a DMCA claim is not the same as hiring one to defend you in a lawsuit or a criminal matter.
It's still expensive. Two hours of time can cost you into the thousands of dollars; more if you are unlucky enough to get a scumbag of a lawyer.
And there's nothing resembling a guarantee that the letter alone will work. Fair use is a positive defense, which means that you're admitting that you are infringing on their copyright, only you believe that you're within the allowed limitations.
Large corporations can and do easily push the discussion into the court system, since the court is the only entity who can ultimately judge whether something is fair use or not. Suddenly you're up to much more than a couple of hours with your lawyer, only to have the corporation drop the suit at a late hour and leave you with nothing - no judgement in your favor, no recompense for your costs.
I’m sorry, what? Who are you hiring, Pablo Escobar’s lawyer?