Copyright notices against your content

When we act on a valid copyright notice about your material, we remove exactly what it names. We tell you the same day, with the notice in full. Each notice is a strike. If the notice is wrong, file a counter-notice: unless the claimant goes to court within 10 business days, the material comes back.

What you will see

An email headed Material removed after a copyright notice, and the notice under Copyright notices in Account standing. It shows who sent it and how to reach them, the work they say is theirs, what they pointed to, and their signature.

Strikes

A strike expires 12 months after we act on the notice. The restriction or closure that follows can be appealed in Account standing; the strike itself is contested by counter-notice.

Before you file a counter-notice

• File one only if the material is yours, licensed to you, not the work described, or removed by mistake.
• It is a legal statement under penalty of perjury, and the claimant receives it in full, including your name and address.
• You consent to a federal court's jurisdiction and agree to accept service of process from the claimant.

How to file a counter-notice

1. 1.

   Find the notice under Copyright notices and choose File a counter-notice.

2. 2.

   Enter your full legal name, an email address, a postal address and, if you like, a phone number.

3. 3.

   Say why the removal was a mistake.

4. 4.

   Tick the 3 statements, type your full name as your signature, and choose Send counter-notice.

If your account was closed and cannot sign in, file it at acada.ac/counter-notice with the reference and email address from the notice email.

What happens next

We send the counter-notice to the claimant at once and email you the restore date, 10 business days later. If the claimant reports a court action by then, the material stays down until the court decides. Otherwise we restore it, withdraw the strike, and undo any restriction or closure it caused.

A course paused under a notice has its students told. If no counter-notice arrives within 14 business days, it stays down and they are refunded. A later counter-notice still clears the strike, and within 90 days of the removal brings the material back.

Rules and limits

• Putting removed material back yourself, or uploading it again elsewhere on ACADA, is a further strike.
• Removed material is kept privately for 90 days, then deleted for good.
• Section 8 of Copyright & DMCA sets out the strikes, and section 7 the counter-notice.

If something goes wrong

"Every statement in the counter-notice is required by law."

Tick all 3 statements.

"Say why the removal was a mistake, in at least a sentence."

Write at least 20 characters.

"Your name, address, email and signature are required."

Fill in each of them.

"Too many counter-notice attempts. Wait an hour and try again."

You tried 3 times in an hour. Wait, then try again.

"That reference and email address do not match a notice we can find."

Use the reference and address from the notice email.