The Donut Shoppe hosts a chat server where users post their own messages and files. We respond to clear notices of claimed copyright infringement under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, and we terminate the accounts of repeat infringers.
Reporting infringement
Send a written notice to the designated agent below. To be effective under 17 U.S.C. §512(c)(3), it must include:
- 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 say is infringing, described well enough
that we can find it — a direct link, or the channel and the message, is best;
- your 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 that the information in the notice is accurate, and, under
penalty of perjury, that you are the owner or are authorised to act for the owner.
Notices missing these elements may not be actionable, and we may come back to you for the missing parts.
Please consider whether the use is a fair use before sending a notice. Knowingly misrepresenting that material is infringing can make you liable for damages, including costs and legal fees, under 17 U.S.C. §512(f).
Designated agent
> [TO FILL IN BEFORE PUBLISHING] > > Agent name: > Address: > Telephone: > Email: > > This agent must also be registered with the U.S. Copyright Office at > dmca.copyright.gov for the safe harbor to apply. Registration is done online, > carries a small fee, and must be renewed every three years.
What happens next
When we receive an effective notice, we remove or disable access to the material promptly, and we tell the user who posted it that we have done so, passing on a copy of the notice.
Counter-notice
If your material was removed and you believe that was a mistake or a misidentification, you may send a counter-notice to the agent above containing:
- your signature;
- identification of the material and where it was before it was removed;
- a statement, under penalty of perjury, that you believe in good faith it was
removed as a result of mistake or misidentification;
- your name, address, and telephone number, and a statement that you consent
to the jurisdiction of the federal court for the district where you live — or, if you're outside the United States, any district where we may be found — and that you will accept service of process from the person who sent the original notice.
If we receive a valid counter-notice, we forward it to the person who complained. Unless they tell us within ten business days that they have filed a court action seeking to restrain the activity, we may restore the material in ten to fourteen business days.
Repeat infringers
We keep a record of notices we act on. An account that is the subject of repeated effective notices is terminated. In deciding what counts as repeated, we look at the number of notices, whether they were contested, and how long apart they were; as a rule of thumb, three uncontested notices ends an account. Serious or deliberate infringement can end an account the first time.