The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (1998, US federal law) criminalizes circumventing copyright protections and requires service providers to remove allegedly infringing content on demand. In practice: a takedown notice arrives, your registrar panics, your domain gets suspended or transferred without due process.
The DMCA has two mechanisms that matter to domain owners. Section 512(c) is the "safe harbor"—registrars can ignore copyright claims if they follow a notice-and-takedown protocol. Section 1201 outlaws tools that bypass copy protection, regardless of intent. A takedown notice doesn't require a court order or proof; a complaint alone can trigger action.
Why this matters: the DMCA is US law, but US-based registrars enforce it globally. If your registrar is in Virginia or California, a single complaint from a rights holder can kill your domain within 48 hours. No hearing. No appeal process built in.
Bunkerdomains does not comply with DMCA takedowns. We don't reply to notices, we don't suspend domains, and we don't ask permission from US copyright holders. If you need a registrar that won't fold under pressure, that's the trade-off.
Related: counter-notices (your legal defense), URS (faster, slightly less brutal), UDRP (trademark-specific).