Copyright and DMCA.

I build and host websites for other businesses. That means material I did not create sometimes sits on servers I control — photos a client uploaded, text they wrote, a review a visitor left.

If you own the copyright in something appearing on a site I host and it is there without your permission, this page tells you how to have it removed. It also tells the businesses I work for what happens if a complaint arrives about their site.

I take copyright seriously in both directions. I will act on a proper notice quickly, and I will not remove someone's work on the strength of a vague email.

Designated agent

Registered with the U.S. Copyright Office · designation DMCA-1077986

Sending a notice

To be effective under 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(3), your notice must include all of:

1. Your physical or electronic signature, as the copyright owner or someone authorized to act for them.
2. Identification of the copyrighted work you say has been infringed.
3. Identification of the material you want removed, specific enough for me to find it — a full URL is best.
4. Your address, telephone number, and email.
5. A statement that you have a good faith belief the use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.
6. A statement that the information is accurate and — under penalty of perjury — that you are authorized to act for the copyright owner.

An incomplete notice may not trigger the obligations below. If yours is missing something, I will usually tell you what.

Please consider whether the use is actually infringing before you send. Fair use, licensed stock, and material you once permitted are all common. 17 U.S.C. § 512(f) makes a knowing material misrepresentation actionable — someone who wrongly claims infringement can be liable for the resulting damages and legal costs.

What happens next

I acknowledge the notice, remove or disable access to the material identified, tell the client whose site it was on and give them a copy, and explain how they can file a counter-notice.

Counter-notices

If material was removed by mistake or misidentification, send a counter-notice to the same agent with your signature; identification of the material and where it appeared; a statement under penalty of perjury that you believe it was removed in error; and your name, address and telephone number, with consent to the jurisdiction of the Federal District Court for your district (or, if you are outside the United States, any district where I may be found) and to accept service from the person who sent the original notice.

I will forward it. If the complainant does not tell me they have filed a court action seeking to restrain the activity, I will restore the material in 10 to 14 business days.

Repeat infringers

I terminate the accounts of repeat infringers in appropriate circumstances. This is required by 17 U.S.C. § 512(i) as a condition of hosting anyone's site at all, so it protects every business I work for, not only the copyright owners who complain.

In practice:

• Every notice and counter-notice is recorded against the account it concerns, with the date.
• A notice that is withdrawn, or answered by a counter-notice that goes unchallenged, does not count against an account. Being accused is not the same as infringing.
• Where a pattern emerges, I warn the account holder in writing and terminate the services if it continues. Deliberate or large-scale infringement can mean immediate termination.
• I use judgment rather than a fixed count, because a fixed count punishes the client who receives three bad-faith notices exactly as hard as the one who ignores three good ones.

Termination does not mean your property is held. Your domain, your content, and your site files remain yours and are handed over on request — see the guarantee. What ends is the service, not your ownership.

Standard technical measures

I accommodate and do not interfere with standard technical measures used by copyright owners to identify or protect their work, as required by § 512(i)(1)(B).

If you are a client of mine

The short version:

• Only publish material you own or have a license for. Stock photos, fonts, plugins and music beds all carry license terms, and "it was on Google Images" is not one.
• If a notice arrives about your site, I will tell you the same day I can, and I will help you understand your options. I am not the judge of who is right.
• If you file a counter-notice you are making a statement under penalty of perjury and consenting to a court's jurisdiction. Take it seriously.
• Tell me if you receive a copyright complaint directly, even if it did not come through me.

This page describes how I handle copyright complaints. It is not legal advice, and it does not change the terms of any agreement — for that, see your service agreement.