Why should I care about reviews that trigger a doctor’s copyright takedown request? It’s just one review.
Remember, the doctor is contacting you because he or she doesn’t like the review. If the doctor liked the review, then there would be no reason to take it down. In many cases, the reviews doctors don’t like are the most valuable for prospective patients—the reviews that say what other people might be afraid to say. In many cases, the reviews that doctors will target for takedowns are exactly the ones that benefit society and your customers the most.
Furthermore, recognize that you’re likely to get many such takedown notices over time (and if the trend spreads, not just from doctors but from all vendors you cover). As doctors start cherry-picking the important negative reviews for takedown, over time your database will become skewed—the positive reviews will remain, the negative reviews will be gone. Consumers are unlikely to find a review site conspicuously skewed towards positive reviews and missing negative reviews to be valuable. How you respond to this one review may establish (or undermine) the continued credibility and viability of your review database.
How Other Websites Have Refused to Comply with Anti-Review Takedown Notices
At least two ratings and review sites are fighting back against takedown notices from doctors. Yelp has refused to honor a doctor’s takedown notice predicated on an anti-review contract. Another website, RateMDs.com, has created a “Wall of Shame” to identify doctors who use anti-review contracts.
[Note: we initially posted this page in 2011. A few months later, Medical Justice “retired” its form. In 2016, Congress enacted the Consumer Review Fairness Act banning anti-review contracts.]