Copyright & DMCA

Avahit hosts content uploaded by its users. If something here infringes a copyright you own or represent, tell us and we will remove or disable it. You do not need an Avahit account to file a notice.

Send a notice

Use the form below, or email [email protected] if you prefer. Notices sent by post reach our designated agent at: MonacoWebPix, C/o CATS, Le Forum, 28 Boulevard Princesse Charlotte, 98000 Monaco.

Designated agent: MonacoWebPix — Director of Publication, MonacoWebPix, C/o CATS, Le Forum, 28 Boulevard Princesse Charlotte, 98000 Monaco. Notices are accepted in English, French, German and Portuguese.

Status of the agent’s registration: registration with the US Copyright Office is pending. We say this plainly rather than implying a protection we do not yet hold: the safe harbour of 17 U.S.C. §512(c) becomes available once an agent is on the Copyright Office register. Our handling of notices — acknowledgement, removal, counter-notice, restoration — already follows the statutory procedure described below, and does so regardless.

Outside the United States the same address works. For content covered by EU law, a notice that identifies the work, the exact URL and your contact details is processed under our notice and action procedure with the same result.

What a valid notice must contain

Under 17 U.S.C. §512(c)(3), a notice is only effective if it includes all of the following. Incomplete notices slow everything down, so please check:

1. Identification of the work you say is infringed.
2. The URL of the specific post on Avahit — one notice can list several, but “your whole site” is not identification.
3. Your name, address, phone and email.
4. A statement that you believe in good faith that the use is not authorised by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.
5. A statement, under penalty of perjury, that the information is accurate and that you are the owner or authorised to act for them.
6. Your physical or electronic signature.

What happens next

1. We acknowledge your notice by email, normally within 2 business days.
2. If the notice is complete, we disable the post and tell the person who uploaded it, passing on your notice including your contact details — this is required by law, so do not include information you are unwilling to share with them.
3. They may file a counter-notice. If they do, we forward it to you. Unless you tell us within 10 business days that you have filed a court action, we may restore the content.

Repeat infringers

We maintain and enforce a repeat infringer policy, as §512(i) requires of any service that hosts other people’s content. In practice:

• A valid notice that we act on puts a strike on the account, and the account holder is told about it.
• A strike is removed if the user files a counter-notice and the material is restored, or if the complaint is withdrawn.
• Three strikes within twelve months terminate the account. Blatant cases — wholesale reposting of another creator’s catalogue, for example — end it at the first occurrence.
• A terminated account may not be replaced with a new one. Doing so is itself grounds for terminating the replacement.

Strike counts and the notices behind them appear in aggregate in our transparency report.

False claims have consequences

Under §512(f), knowingly misrepresenting that material is infringing makes you liable for damages, including legal costs. Do not use this form for disputes that are really about trademarks, competition or something you simply dislike — use the report button on the post instead.

Counter-notice

If your post was removed and you believe that was a mistake or that you are authorised to use the work, email [email protected] with the post URL, your contact details, a statement under penalty of perjury that you believe the removal was a mistake or misidentification, and your consent to the jurisdiction of the courts where you live.

File a copyright notice