We
KNOW
Getty
owns
this
picture
though
that
might
not
stop
UHC.
(Photo
by
Jeff
Swensen/Getty
Images)
Someone
purporting
to
be
United
Healthcare
is
filing
DMCA
requests
to
scrub
the
internet
of
artists’
depictions
of
the
surveillance
video
of
Luigi
smiling,
parody
merchandise
of
“Deny,
Defend,
Depose,”
and
other
merchandise
showing
the
alleged
shooter.
If
it
is
really
the
health
insurer
filing
these
notices,
it
wildly
oversteps
any
legal
rights
the
company
might
have,
but
if
there’s
any
company
willing
to
preemptively
breach
the
law
and
dare
the
other
side
to
spend
their
limited
resources
trying
to
protect
their
rights
it
would
be
a
health
insurer.
404
Media
reports
that
a
number
of
DMCA
takedown
requests
from
“United
Healthcare”
have
hit
artists
depicting
the
newsworthy
event.
The
publication
reached
out
to
the
company
to
confirm
that
it’s
behind
the
filings
but
didn’t
hear
back.
For
those
keeping
score
at
home,
the
DMCA
provides
that
a
copyright
owner
must
inform
an
internet
entity
that
their
intellectual
property
is
being
abused
and
the
service
provider
then
has
an
opportunity
to
expeditiously
remove
the
material
and
avoid
possible
liability.
That
said,
the
DMCA
only
provides
a
shield
against
legal
action
and
if
the
copyright
claim
is
—
to
use
the
precise
legal
term
—
“utter
bullshit,”
they
don’t
have
to
comply.
Unfortunately,
hosts
routinely
err
on
the
side
of
caution
and
remove
content
when
there’s
zero
cognizable
claim.
If
this
is
someone
acting
on
behalf
of
United
Healthcare,
what
an
irony
to
lodge
a
falsified
claim
without
it
getting
denied.
From
404:
An
entity
claiming
to
be
United
Healthcare
is
sending
bogus
copyright
claims
to
internet
platforms
to
get
Luigi
Mangione
fan
art
taken
off
the
internet,
according
to
the
print-on-demand
merch
retailer
TeePublic.
An
independent
journalist
was
hit
with
a
copyright
takedown
demand
over
an
image
of
Luigi
Mangione
and
his
family
she
posted
on
Bluesky,
and
other
DMCA
takedown
requests
posted
to
an
open
database
and
viewed
by
404
Media
show
copyright
claims
trying
to
get
“Deny,
Defend,
Depose”
and
Luigi
Mangione-related
merch
taken
off
the
internet,
though
it
is
unclear
who
is
filing
them.
It’s
a
bizarre
and
grimly
ironic
turn
if
United
Healthcare
wanted
to
own
the
words
“Deny,
Defend,
Depose.”
The
takedown
request
for
that
piece
objects
to
the
artist
styling
the
“D”
with
elements
of
the
United
Healthcare
logo…
which
would
be
the
very
definition
of
protected
parody.
The
404
story
has
images
if
you
want
to
see
what
these
all
look
like.
Beyond
tying
itself
to
the
gunman’s
catchphrase,
the
idea
of
UHC
trying
to
own
any
and
all
fixations
of
the
alleged
shooter’s
likeness
would
be
a
wild
leap.
An
artists’
depiction
of
Mangione
could
only
belong
to
the
artist
(Mangione
might
be
able
to
assert
some
rights
to
his
likeness
—
a
dubious
claim
under
the
circumstances
and
in
light
of
the
First
Amendment
—
but
in
no
case
would
UHC
have
such
a
claim).
“What
is
the
circumstance
under
which
United
Healthcare
might
come
to
own
the
copyright
to
a
watercolor
painting
of
the
guy
who
assassinated
their
CEO?”
tech
rights
expert
and
science
fiction
author
Cory
Doctorow
told
404
Media
in
a
phone
call.
“It’s
just
like,
it’s
hard
to
imagine”
a
lawyer
thinking
that,
he
added,
saying
that
it’s
an
example
of
“copyfraud.”
It
is
illegal
to
file
DMCA
notices
if
you
don’t
own
the
copyright
(or
at
least
have
a
good
faith
belief
that
you
do).
The
idea
that
UHC
now
owns
every
depiction
of
the
guy
accused
of
killing
their
employee
is
laughably
frivolous
and
one
hopes
that
its
legal
department
understands
this
and
these
requests
are
coming
from
a
third
party
troll
impersonating
the
carrier.
An
independent
journalist
posting
a
photo
of
Mangione
with
his
family
also
received
a
DMCA
request
—
from
a
lawyer
claiming
to
represent
a
family
member
holding
the
copyright
—
even
though
the
image
was
“originally
posted
on
the
campaign
website
of
Maryland
assemblymember
Nino
Mangione.”
That
site
apparently
deleted
the
image
and
turned
around
to
threaten
anyone
using
it
now
which
is…
not
how
fair
use
works.
But
at
least
this
request
can
claim
they
have
a
“good
faith”
claim,
though
the
system
probably
shouldn’t
reward
people
for
trying
to
retroactively
claim
rights
after
they
try
to
memory-hole
their
internet
history.
But
the
disturbing
thread
running
through
all
these
requests
is
how
easy
it’s
become
for
copyright
trolls
to
leverage
the
DMCA
to
intimidate
providers
into
accepting
facially
invalid
requests.
The
statute
has
given
way
to
a
sort
of
asymmetrical
warfare
over
IP
where
bad
faith
actors
can
pepper
sites
with
ownership
claims
and
trust
that
their
targets
will
back
down
rather
than
deal
with
the
litigation
risk.
As
404’s
coverage
notes,
this
doesn’t
bode
well
in
a
country
about
to
inaugurate
an
administration
openly
encouraging
retribution
against
journalists
in
an
effort
to
silence
criticism.
This
sure
looks
like
a
company
(and
a
local
politician)
trying
to
use
copyright
law
as
a
“square
peg-round
hole”
solution
to
erasing
any
humanizing
or
sympathetic
depiction
of
Mangione.
And
unfortunately,
everyone
seems
to
be
obeying
in
advance.
Copyright
Abuse
Is
Getting
Luigi
Mangione
Merch
Removed
From
the
Internet
[404
Media]
Joe
Patrice is
a
senior
editor
at
Above
the
Law
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
Feel
free
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Joe
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