Copyright and DMCA policy

02Filing a notice of claimed infringement

Your notice must be in writing and include (17 U.S.C. §512(c)(3)):

1. A physical or electronic signature of the copyright owner or of a person authorized to act on the owner’s behalf.
2. Identification of the copyrighted work you claim is infringed (or, for several works on one page, a representative list).
3. Identification of the material you claim is infringing and that should be removed, with enough information for us to find it: the TownRatings page address (URL) and, if the page has several images or posts, which one.
4. Your contact information: name, postal address, telephone number and email address.
5. A statement that you have a good-faith belief that the use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent or the law.
6. A statement that the information in the notice is accurate and, under penalty of perjury, that you are the copyright owner or are authorized to act on the owner’s behalf.

A notice that is missing these elements may not be effective. Before you file, consider whether the use may be fair use or covered by a license: many images on TownRatings come from Wikimedia Commons and other sources under Creative Commons licenses, credited on the page.

03What happens next

When we receive a valid notice, we remove or disable access to the material promptly, and, where the material was posted by a member, we let that member know and send them a copy of the notice (including your contact information, so they can respond).

04Filing a counter-notice

If material you posted was removed and you believe it was removed by mistake or misidentification, you can send us, through our contact form (topic “DMCA notice”), a counter-notice. It must be in writing and include (17 U.S.C. §512(g)(3)):

1. Your physical or electronic signature.
2. Identification of the material that was removed or disabled, and where it appeared before it was removed.
3. A statement, under penalty of perjury, that you have a good-faith belief the material was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification.
4. Your name, address and telephone number, and a statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of the Federal District Court for the judicial district where your address is (or, if your address is outside the United States, any judicial district in which TownRatings may be found), and that you will accept service of process from the person who sent the original notice or their agent.

When we receive a valid counter-notice, we send a copy to the person who filed the original notice. Unless they tell us within 10 business days that they have filed a court action to stop the infringement, we restore the material within 10 to 14 business days after receiving the counter-notice.

05False claims

Under 17 U.S.C. §512(f), anyone who knowingly and materially misrepresents that material is infringing, or that it was removed by mistake, may be liable for damages, including costs and attorneys’ fees. If you aren’t sure, consider asking a lawyer first.

06Repeat infringers

We keep a record of the valid notices we receive against each account. In appropriate circumstances we close the accounts of members who repeatedly infringe copyright, and we may close an account after a single notice where the infringement is clear and serious. Notices that were successfully countered don’t count.

07Other concerns

For trademark, privacy or other concerns that aren’t about copyright, use our contact form or email [email protected].