Legal
DMCA Policy
1. Submitting a DMCA Notice
If you believe content on Biou infringes your copyright, you may send a written notice to our designated agent (see Section 3). To be valid under the DMCA, your notice must include all of the following:
- Your physical or electronic signature.
- Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed (or a representative list if multiple works).
- Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing and its location on Biou, with enough detail for us to locate it (full URL preferred).
- Your contact information (name, address, telephone number, and email).
- A statement that you have a good-faith belief that the use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.
- A statement, made under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or are authorized to act on the owner’s behalf.
Incomplete notices may not be actionable. Please double-check that all elements above are present.
2. What Happens After We Receive a Notice
- We review the notice for completeness.
- If valid, we remove or disable access to the allegedly infringing content and notify the user who posted it.
- We may also suspend the account pending further review.
- We forward the notice (including your contact details) to the user who posted the content.
3. Designated Copyright Agent
Send DMCA notices in writing to our designated agent:
- Name: [DMCA_AGENT_NAME]
- Address: [DMCA_AGENT_ADDRESS]
- Phone: [DMCA_AGENT_PHONE]
- Email: [DMCA_EMAIL]
To claim the DMCA safe-harbor in the United States, you must register a designated agent with the U.S. Copyright Office (USCO). One-time fee USD 6 plus USD 35 every 3 years to renew. Closed-beta launch can proceed without registration, but register before going public to anyone in the U.S.; otherwise the safe-harbor protection does not apply and you can be sued directly for user-uploaded infringing content.
4. Counter-Notification
If you believe your content was removed or disabled by mistake or misidentification, you may submit a counter-notification to the designated agent above. Your counter-notice must include:
- Your physical or electronic signature.
- Identification of the material that was removed and its prior location.
- A statement, made under penalty of perjury, that you have a good-faith belief the material was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification.
- Your name, address, telephone number, and a statement consenting to the jurisdiction of the U.S. federal district court for the district where your address is located (or for any judicial district where Biou is located if your address is outside the U.S.), and that you will accept service of process from the person who provided the original notice.
Upon receipt of a valid counter-notice, we will forward it to the original complainant. Unless the complainant files a court action within 10 to 14 business days seeking an injunction against the user, we may restore the removed content.
5. Repeat Infringers
It is our policy to terminate, in appropriate circumstances, the accounts of users we determine to be repeat infringers.
6. Misrepresentations
Submitting a knowingly false DMCA notice or counter-notice can result in legal liability for damages, costs, and attorneys’ fees under Section 512(f) of the DMCA. Do not file a notice if you are unsure whether the content is infringing — consider consulting an attorney first.
7. Other Jurisdictions
Although this policy is framed around the U.S. DMCA, we also accept notices under comparable copyright laws of other jurisdictions (e.g., the EU Copyright Directive, UK CDPA). Send these to the same designated agent.
8. Contact
- DMCA agent email: [DMCA_EMAIL]
- Legal entity: [LEGAL_ENTITY]
- Jurisdiction: [JURISDICTION]