Copyright and DMCA notices

Notices of claimed copyright infringement under 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(3) should be sent to the designated agent:

If you operate this instance and it serves users in the United States, publishing this page is only half of the requirement: the same agent must also be registered with the U.S. Copyright Office's directory at dmca.copyright.gov, and that registration renewed every three years. Without it, the safe harbour this page describes is not available, no matter what the page says.

To be effective, a notice needs all six of the following:

• A physical or electronic signature of the copyright owner, or someone authorised to act for them.
• Identification of the copyrighted work you say has been infringed.
• Identification of the material you are asking to have removed, described precisely enough that it can actually be found.
• Your contact details — address, telephone number and email address.
• A statement that you believe in good faith that the use is not authorised by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.
• A statement, made under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorised to act for them.

Misrepresenting that material is infringing carries liability for damages under § 512(f). If you are unsure whether what you have seen is actually infringing, ask a lawyer before sending a notice.

Material identified in a valid notice is removed or disabled, and the household that uploaded it is told what was removed and why, along with a copy of the notice. Because files here are private to a single household rather than published, this usually means the file is deleted from storage and the household is notified — there is no public listing to take down.

If your material was removed and you believe that was a mistake or a misidentification, you can send a counter-notice to the same agent. It must contain your signature, identification of the material and where it was, a statement under penalty of perjury that you believe in good faith it was removed by mistake, your contact details, and your consent to the jurisdiction of the federal district court for your address (or, if you are outside the United States, for any district where the operator may be found).

A valid counter-notice is forwarded to whoever sent the original notice. If they do not file a court action within ten to fourteen business days, the material may be restored.

Accounts and households that repeatedly store infringing material are terminated. This is a condition of the safe harbour, not a discretionary policy, and it is reflected in the Terms of Service.