DMCA Copyright Policy

FAWM, LLC (“FAWM”) believes that copyrights should be protected, but realizes that deciding if copyright infringement has occurred isn’t always clear, and encourages fawmers to discuss any concerns about possible infringement and to resolve any disputes amicably. FAWM is, however, committed to protecting the rights of all creators. For that reason, FAWM has adopted this policy that allows copyright owners to protect their rights and the creators of new works to dispute allegations of infringement, as provided in 17 U.S.C. § 512 (the Digital Millennium Copyright Act or DMCA).

1. How to report a claim of infringement

If you believe that any material accessible on the FAWM site or through FAWM violates any of your exclusive rights under United States copyright law have been in a manner that constitutes infringement, notify our designated agent, as required by the DMCA by email at copyright@fawm.org, or at the following address:

FAWM, LLC
PO Box 5042
Pittsburgh PA 15206
United States of America

Your notification must be written and addressed to our designated agent and must provide the following information (the list below comes straight from the statute; if you do not understand the language please seek independent advice):

  • A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed;
  • Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works at a single online site are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works at that site;
  • Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity and that is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled, and information reasonably sufficient to permit the service provider to locate the material;
  • Information reasonably sufficient to permit the service provider to contact the complaining party, such as an address, telephone number, and, if available, an electronic mail address at which the complaining party may be contacted;
  • A statement that the complaining party has a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and
  • A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

Upon receipt of a valid claim (i.e., a claim in which all required information is substantially provided) FAWM will, as required by the DMCA, remove or disable access to the material and notify the user who posted the allegedly infringing material that we have removed or disabled access to that material.

2. How to make a counter notification

If material that you posted to the FAWM site was removed or disabled following an infringement notification and you believe the material was removed or disabled by mistake or as the result of misidentification, you may file a counter notification. Your counter notification must be written and addressed to our designated agent and must provide the following information (again, the list below comes straight from the statute; if you do not understand the language please seek independent advice):

  • A physical or electronic signature of the subscriber;
  • Identification of the material that has been removed or to which access has been disabled and the location at which the material appeared before it was removed or access to it was disabled;
  • A statement under penalty of perjury that the subscriber has a good faith belief that the material was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification of the material to be removed or disabled; and
  • The subscriber's name, address, and telephone number, and a statement that the subscriber consents to the jurisdiction of Federal District Court for the judicial district in which the address is located, or if the subscriber's address is outside of the United States, for any judicial district in which the service provider may be found, and that the subscriber will accept service of process from the person who provided notification under subsection (c)(1)(C) or an agent of such person.

Upon receipt of a valid counter notification (i.e., a claim in which all required information is substantially provided), FAWM will provide (a) a copy of the counter notification to the person who provided the notification and inform that person that FAWM will replace the removed material or cease disabling access to it in 10 business days and (b) replace the removed material or cease disabling access to it in not less than 10 or more than 14 business days, unless, before replacing the material, FAWM receives notice from the person who provided the notification that they have filed an action seeking a court order to restrain you from infringing the material through FAWM.

3. Repeat Infringers

FAWM will terminate the accounts of users who it finds, in its sole discretion, to be repeat infringers.