GoPro issues DMCA takedown notice to DigitalRev for Hero3 review

GoPro issued a DMCA takedown notice to DigitalRev, forcing the online retailer to remove its review of the Hero3 from its website.

This is a sad day for photographers and camera reviewers everywhere. DigitalRev, a well-known digital imaging product retailer, which happens to review cameras and lenses in an unusual, but funny manner, has been asked to delete a review of the GoPro Hero3 camera from its site.

Hero3’s maker, GoPro, asked DigitalRev to take down a review of the camera because the article was not compliant with its copyright.

GoPro goes after DigitalRev using DMCA complaint

Some people are enjoying DigitalRev’s reviews, while some do not agree with their approach. And then there is GoPro. The company’s brand manager, called Patrick Hayes, has issued a DMCA takedown notice to the retailer, saying that the review needs to be deleted immediately from the website.

GoPro is a company which manufactures the beloved adventure-proof camera series, called Hero. The GoPro Hero3 is the latest version of these rugged cameras. DigitalRev reviewed the GoPro Hero3 in tandem with the Sony HDR-AS15.

It seems like the Hero3 maker did not appreciate the review since the company’s brand manager has issued a DMCA takedown notice to DigitalRev’s hosting provider, called SoftLayer.

SoftLayer did not want to risk anything, therefore it forced DigitalRev to remove the article from its website. Otherwise, the hosting provider would have powered down the retailer’s whole website.

The DMCA does not actually cover such situations

This is a very weird situation, considering the fact that anybody is free to review a product. As long as it is in your hands, you can review it. Moreover, it does not even have to be yours to say a few words about it.

GoPro claims that the review infringes on its trademark. However, it is impossible for a review to infringe on someone’s trademark, unless it is copied from another source.

However, the review is 100% original, while the Digital Millennium Copyright Act does not actually cover the alleged trademark violation.

Hero3’s maker used Reddit to emit a quick response

GoPro issued an official response through Reddit, a very popular social media website. A company representative stated that the situation is just an “unfortunate miscommunication”.

The rep added that DigitalRev is not authorized to act as a GoPro product reseller and that the images used in their store listing were incorrectly branded.

Unfortunately for GoPro, this does not explain why the review has been taken down. The store listing should have been deleted instead of that article. Even so, retailers are authorized to sell such products over the internet.

It is a sad day for the internet because the hosting provider caved in to Hero3 manufacturer’s request so easily.

At the time of writing this article, GoPro did not issue another statement, while DigitalRev’s Hero3 review remained down.