The DMCA is a US copyright law enacted in 1998. The "Safe Harbor" provisions of the Act protect internet service providers who adhere to the DMCA established procedure for accepting and following up on notices of infringements from the copyright violations of their customers. Most internet service providers have responded to the DMCA by taking refuge in the "Safe Harbor" provisions and establishing a procedure for accepting notices and removing web pages containing alleged copyright infringements.
U.S. internet service providers taking refuge in the "Safe Harbor" provisions of the DMCA are required to review the notice and expeditiously remove or disable access to the offending web page(s).
After removal, the internet service provider is required to give notice to the owner of the webpage(s) containing the infringement. If a counter-notice is filed, the person who submitted the original notice will have 14 days to file a case in U.S. courts before the internet service provider will be required by DMCA regulations to restore the page(s).
U.S. internet service providers not taking refuge in the "Safe Harbor" provisions, as well as internet service providers in other jurisdictions, are not required to remove webpages after receipt of an infringement notice however, they may be liable pursuant to the laws in their jurisdiction.
Internet service providers must ensure that all required information is included in the notice; however, they are not required to make a judgment as to whether an infringement occurred.
As a measure to prevent copyright owners from wrongfully claiming infringements, the internet service provider must alert the owner of the infringing webpage(s) and provide them with the opportunity to file a counter-notice claiming their materials have been wrongfully removed.
Generally copyright law protects original works fixed in a tangible medium. If your web design is very generic and for instance based on a template then it is probably not copyrightable. On the other hand, if your design is truly unique and original then it may be copyrightable. Text may also be deemed too generic to be copyrightable. However it is generally easier to prove uniqueness and originality with text.
You may be able to seek damages from the offender and/or internet service provider in the jurisdiction(s) in which the violation(s) occurred. Thailand, for instance has several laws that allow for criminal and civil damages against violators of intellectual property rights.
You will still may want to file an infringement notice with the U.S. based internet search engine companies, Google and Yahoo, as the removal of the offending pages from their directories will limit access to the infringing material.
Our Thailand Law Firm consists of Thai and American lawyers working together. We have a vast amount of experience in prosecuting infringers of websites. Knowledge of our American attorneys of U.S. copyright laws is essential for digital copyright cases, as most major internet service providers and search engine companies are located in the U.S. and subject to U.S. copyright law. Our Thailand lawyers include experienced prosecutors who have filed dozens of copyright infringement cases in Thailand courts.
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