Copyright infringement notices

UNCHAIN, Inc. accepts notices that copyright or other rights are being infringed on Pulse. This article sets out what your notice must contain, what happens after we receive it, and the procedure by which someone subject to a measure may object.

#The legal position

The Act on Countermeasures against Information Distribution Platforms sets out a framework for where rights are infringed by the distribution of information through “specified telecommunications”.

Where, on the other hand, a share link has been issued in a form viewable by unspecified persons, we treat that part as capable of constituting “specified telecommunications”.

#What your notice must contain

There is no statutory form. Please include each of the following. Where items are missing we cannot establish the facts, and we may ask you to supplement it.

1. Your details — your name, address and contact details (telephone number and email address)
2. Your relationship to the rights holder — where you are the rights holder yourself, a statement to that effect. Where you give notice as an agent, the rights holder's name and a document evidencing your authority
3. The right said to be infringed — whether copyright (the right of reproduction, the right of public transmission and so on), moral rights, trade mark rights, or another right
4. Identification of the work concerned — the title, the author's name, the date of publication, where it appeared, and anything else that identifies the work
5. Identification of the material on Pulse — the share link URL, the note identifier, a description of the passage concerned, or anything else that identifies the material uniquely
6. Why you consider the right to be infringed — that you are the rights holder, that the material is a reproduction of or otherwise derived from your work, and that you have not licensed its use
7. A statement of truth — that what you have stated is true, and that you accept responsibility where a false notice causes loss to UNCHAIN, Inc. or to the sender
8. The date of the notice and a signature — signed and sealed, or the electronic equivalent

#A model notice

You are welcome to copy this out and use it.

Notice of infringing information and request for blocking measures

To: UNCHAIN, Inc.

                                    Date of notice: [date the notice was prepared]

1. Person giving notice
   Name:
   Address:
   Telephone number:
   Email address:
   Rights holder / agent (if an agent, give the rights holder's name and attach
   a document evidencing authority):

2. Right said to be infringed
   (e.g.) Copyright (right of reproduction / right of public transmission)

3. The work concerned
   Title:
   Author:
   Date of publication:
   Where published (URL, bibliographic details, etc.):

4. Where the material is
   Share link URL / note identifier:
   The passage concerned:

5. Why the right is said to be infringed

6. Statement
   The above is true. I accept that, where a false notice causes loss to
   UNCHAIN, Inc. or to the sender, I bear responsibility for it.

                                    Signed / sealed:

#Where to send it

Infringement notices are received at this address. Vulnerability reports follow a different route and procedure, and should be sent to tharada@the-unchain.com. For the scope and the procedure, see Vulnerability disclosure policy.

#What happens after we receive it

1. 1

   Receipt

   Notices are received by email or on paper. We tell the person giving notice the date and time we received it.

2. 2

   Checking the form

   Where items are missing, we may ask you to supplement it. Nothing further proceeds until that is done.

3. 3

   Enquiry to the sender

   We put the substance of the notice to the user who posted the material (the sender) and ask whether they consent to blocking measures being taken. Where seven days pass from the day of that enquiry without the sender stating that they do not consent, UNCHAIN, Inc. may take blocking measures.

4. 4

   Decision and measures

   Where we judge the infringement to be clear, or where the enquiry stage above has been completed, UNCHAIN, Inc. takes measures such as stopping publication of the material and invalidating share links.

5. 5

   Notice of the outcome

   We inform both the person who gave notice and the sender what measures were taken and why.

6. 6

   Objection

   A user subject to a measure may object to UNCHAIN, Inc.. The procedure is set out under “Objecting to a measure (the restoration procedure)” in this article.

7. 7

   Repeat infringement

   For accounts that infringe repeatedly, we may suspend use of the service or terminate the contract under Articles 12 and 19 of the terms of service.

#Objecting to a measure (the restoration procedure)

A user who posted the material and objects to the measure should write to tharada@the-unchain.com stating the following.

1. The name, address and contact details of the person objecting (the sender)
2. Identification of the material subject to the measure (the share link URL before the measure, the note identifier, and so on)
3. Why you consider the measure to be wrong (that you hold the copyright yourself, that you have the rights holder's licence, that the use is lawful as quotation, that the material is not the notifying party's work, and so on)
4. A statement that what you have said is true
5. The date of the objection, and a signature or seal

UNCHAIN, Inc. reviews the objection and, where we judge there is no infringement, lifts the measure and restores the material to its previous state. Where the position is difficult to judge, we direct both parties to resolve it between themselves or through the courts.

#Where use is lawful as quotation

Even where material stored in Pulse or something said in a meeting includes a third party's work, there is no infringement if that use is lawful as quotation.

#Requests for disclosure of sender information

UNCHAIN, Inc. does not disclose user information to third parties except as required by law. Where you seek disclosure of sender information, consider a request for disclosure under Article 5 of the Act on Countermeasures against Information Distribution Platforms, or an application for a sender information disclosure order under Article 8 of that Act. Where there is a court order for disclosure of sender information or another procedure under the law, UNCHAIN, Inc. responds in accordance with the law. In that case we inform the user concerned so far as the law permits.

#Legal remedies available to a rights holder

Measures taken by UNCHAIN, Inc. are no more than a contractual response. Where the parties are in dispute about ownership of a right or whether it is infringed, the final decision rests with the courts.

#If something is not working

• You have been told the material cannot be identified — please give the share link URL or the note identifier. A description of what is on screen is often not enough to identify the material uniquely.
• The note concerned cannot be viewed — notes inside a private workspace cannot be viewed by anyone without permission, including at UNCHAIN, Inc.. We investigate on the basis of what your notice says.
• You have had no reply — where we have asked you to supplement the notice, nothing proceeds until you do. Check what you sent and whether UNCHAIN, Inc. has been in touch, then write to tharada@the-unchain.com again.

#Related articles

• Terms of service — prohibited conduct, suspension and termination
• Sharing notes — who a note is shared with, and share link settings
• Privacy policy — how user information is handled, and our approach to disclosure
• Vulnerability disclosure policy — where to send security reports, and the procedure