Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) Notice & Procedure

Factual's mission, as its name implies, is to offer people tools to pool, structure, and create meaning from the commons of factual data on the Internet. Factual is built on the notion that a healthy data ecosystem requires free and fair flow of data among everyone who stands to benefit from it. This notion is reflected in one of the most fundamental and long-standing principles of intellectual property law: that while original, creative expression of ideas and facts deserves robust protection, the underlying ideas and facts themselves are public goods that everyone can share and build upon. Factual's legal policies put in practice this balance between protecting creativity and encouraging innovation. If you believe that a Factual user has violated your rights under the law, the below policies explain how we will help you protect those rights. At the same time, and with the same level of dedication, Factual aims to protect the free and legal exchange of data and asks that you do the same. Before availing yourself of the takedown policies below, please ask yourself or your attorney to what extent the law grants you an actual copyright interest in the material in question, particularly given that Factual is designed for non-copyrightable data-sharing. As the Digital Millennium Copyright Act itself recognizes, abuses of takedown rights are detrimental to a healthy Web and can result in significant legal penalties.

Factual Inc. will respond to allegations of copyright violations in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). The DMCA provides a process for a copyright owner to give notification to an online service provider concerning alleged copyright infringement. When a valid DMCA notification is received, the service provider responds under this process by taking down or disabling the offending content. On taking down or disabling access to allegedly infringing material under the DMCA, we will take reasonable steps to contact the owner of the removed content so that a counter-notification may be filed. On receiving a valid counter-notification, we generally restore the content in question, unless we receive notice from the notification provider that a legal action has been filed seeking a court order to restrain the alleged infringer from engaging in the infringing activity.

Factual Inc. may provide copies of such notices to the participants in the dispute or to any other third parties, at our discretion and as required by law. Factual's privacy policy does not protect information provided in these notices. Please note that in addition to being forwarded to the person who provided the allegedly infringing content, a copy of this legal notice will be sent to a third party which may publish and/or annotate it. As such, your letter (with your personal information removed) will be forwarded to Chilling Effects.

The form of notice specified below is consistent with the form suggested by the United States Digital Millennium Copyright Act (the text of which can be found at the U.S. Copyright Office Web Site, www.chillingeffects.org) but we will respond to notices of this form from other jurisdictions as well.

Multiple instances of infringement by a particular user will result in termination of that user's account, and possibly further legal action. Regardless of whether we may be liable for such infringement under local country law or United States law, our response to these notices may include removing or disabling access to material claimed to be the subject of infringing activity and/or terminating subscribers. If we remove or disable access in response to such a notice, we will make a good-faith attempt to contact the owner or administrator of the affected site or content so that they may make a counter notification. We may also document notices of alleged infringement on which we act. Please note that in addition to being forwarded to the person who provided the allegedly infringing content, a copy of this legal notice may be sent to a third-party which may publish and/or annotate it. As such, your letter (with your personal information removed) may be forwarded to Chilling Effects for publication.

To File a Notification for Infringing Material

A written notification must be made. This can be done either by fax or written letter (regular mail or courier). Emails will not be accepted unless a prior arrangement has been made.

If your concern is with content you posted to any factual.com webpage, please note that by submitting, posting or displaying your content on our site, you grant Factual Inc. and its end users a perpetual, worldwide, irrevocable, royalty-free license as specified in the Terms of Use - please visit Terms of Use.

Your notification must include the following information:

1. A description of the copyrighted work you claim to have been infringed. If you are not the owner of the copyrighted work, you must also include your electronic or digital signature as a person authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner. Please note that given Factual's commitment to and the law's protection of the free flow of factual information, Factual asks that your notification include a clear explanation of how the work in question is indeed copyrightable expression, as distinguished from a raw fact or idea. Note also that under DMCA Section 512(f), any person who knowingly materially misrepresents that material or activity is infringing may be subject to liability for damages.
2. Identify the material that you claim is infringing the copyrighted work listed in item #1 above.

   This should include (a) the exact rows or columns of data, and (b) the URL for each allegedly infringing table. In the case of any information location tools that Factual may provide to help you locate and link to content across the Web, you must identify each search result that you claim to be infringing. This requires you to provide (a) the search query that you used, and (b) the URL for each allegedly infringing search result.

   For example, suppose (hypothetically) that you found a Factual table (via the search box or browsing) that has material from a source that you believe infringes the copyrighted material you identified in item #1 above. In this case, you would provide the following information:

   Table Name	URL
   Infringing table	http://www.factual.com/infringingtable

   If you are sending a large number of URLs or tables in one removal request, please also send an electronic copy of the notice.

3. Provide a reasonably sufficient method of contacting you; phone number and email address would be preferred.
4. (Optional) Provide information, if possible, sufficient to permit us to notify the user(s) who posted the content that allegedly contains infringing material. You may also provide screenshots or other materials that are helpful to identify the works in question. (This is for identification only, not to "prove" substantive claims, and screenshots and the like that are not a substitute for the required identifying information described in (2) above.
5. Include the following statement: "I have a good faith belief that use of the copyrighted materials described above as allegedly infringing is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law."
6. Include the following statement: "I swear, under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notification is accurate and that I am the copyright owner or am authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed."
7. Sign the paper.

   Please note: The DMCA provides that you may be liable for damages (including costs and attorneys' fees) if you falsely claim that a data table infringes your copyrights. We recommend contacting an attorney if you are unsure whether a data table (or the content within) is protected by copyright laws.

8. Send the written communication to the following address:

   Factual, Inc.
   Attn: Factual Legal Support, DMCA Complaints
   Ms. Melanie Vaget, DMCA Agent
   1801 Avenue of the Stars, Suite 1450
   Los Angeles, CA 90067

   OR fax to:

   888-399-9345, Attn: Factual Legal Support, DMCA Complaints

Upon receipt of the written Notification containing the information as outlined in 1 through 6 above:

1. Factual Inc. shall remove or disable access to the material that is alleged to be infringing;
2. Factual Inc. shall forward the written notification to such alleged infringer ("Subscriber");
3. Factual Inc. shall take reasonable steps to promptly notify the user that it has removed or disabled access to the material.

To File a Counter Notification

The administrator of an affected site or the provider of affected content may make a counter notification pursuant to sections 512(g)(2) and (3) of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. When we receive a counter notification, we may reinstate, or reinstate access to, the material in question.

To file a counter notification with us, you must provide a written communication (by fax or regular mail -- not by email, except by prior agreement) that sets forth the items specified below. The notification must adhere to the following format:

1. List the specific URLs, datasets/tables or other unique identifying information of material that Factual Inc. has removed or to which Factual Inc. has disabled access.
2. Provide your name, address, telephone number, email address (if available).
3. State that you consent to the jurisdiction of Federal District Court for the judicial district in which you reside (or San Francisco, California if your address is outside of the United States).
4. Include the following statement: "I swear, under penalty of perjury, that I have a good faith belief that each search result, message, or other item of content identified above was removed or disabled as a result of a mistake or misidentification of the material to be removed or disabled, or that the material identified by the complainant has been removed or disabled at the URL identified and will no longer be shown." Please note that under DMCA Section 512(f), any person who knowingly materially misrepresents the material or activity was removed or disabled by mistake or misidentification may be subject to liability for damages.
5. Sign the paper.

6. Send the written communication to the following address:

   Factual, Inc.
   Attn: Factual Legal Support, DMCA Complaints
   Ms. Melanie Vaget, DMCA Agent
   1801 Avenue of the Stars, Suite 1450
   Los Angeles, CA 90067

   OR fax to:

   888-399-9345, Attn: Factual Legal Support, DMCA Complaints

For any additional questions regarding the DMCA process for Factual products please contact us.

Upon receipt of a Counter Notification containing the information as outlined in 1 through 4 above:

1. Factual Inc. shall promptly provide you, the complaining party, with a copy of the Counter Notification;
2. Factual Inc. shall inform you that it will replace the removed material or cease disabling access to it within ten (10) business days;
3. Factual Inc. shall replace the removed material or cease disabling access to the material within ten (10) to fourteen (14) business days following receipt of the Counter Notification, provided Factual Inc. has not received notice from you that an action has been filed seeking a court order to restrain user from engaging in infringing activity relating to the material on Factual's network or system.

FAQs

Q. How do I make a DMCA notification or counter-notification?
A. Please follow the instructions above precisely, including only the enumerated information. Inclusion of any information beyond the specifically required information and optional information listed above could significantly impede review of your attempted notification. You may find it simplest to cut and paste the numbered items above and use them as headings for the information you are submitting.

Q. Can I submit my notices over email?
A. Unfortunately, email addresses posted on public website pages quickly become the target of spam, making it difficult to review legitimate communications. Please submit information as requested above; if digital files are necessary to identify materials in question, we can make arrangements for digital delivery.

Q. I don't agree with the required statements. Do I have to state these things?
A. We will not accept notices under the DMCA that do not include the statements required by the DMCA.

Q. Can you change the DMCA process?
A. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act is federal law, enacted by the United States Congress. Factual carries out its DMCA process as described and required by the law.

Q. Do you terminate accounts based on DMCA claims?
A. If Factual believes that a user of Factual and its tools is continually abusing the DMCA process, either with filings that appear to be without basis, or by continually re-posting content that is the subject of valid DMCA notifications, we may exercise our right to terminate the abusing party's account. Multiple instances of infringement by a particular user will result in termination of that user's account, and possibly further action by Factual or third parties. Abuse of the DMCA takedown process (e.g. notices that are without basis or filed in bad faith) may result in legal action by Factual or third parties under the DMCA.

Q. Where can I find more information about the DMCA and other copyright laws?
A. There are many available resources on the Internet. Factual is not responsible for the content provided by these other resources, but we have found the following to be informative:

A summary of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act can be found at:
http://www.copyright.gov/legislation/dmca.pdf

The text of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act can be found here:
http://www.copyright.gov/legislation/hr2281.pdf

The U.S. federal copyright code is here:
http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap5.html

More government-provided information on copyrights can be found here:
http://www.copyright.gov

Many universities maintain useful public information regarding copyrights, including:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/index.php/Copyright
http://fairuse.stanford.edu/