DMCA / Copyright Policy — FishFinder Engine™

Status: DRAFT — for attorney review. Effective Date: [Effective Date] Version: 0.1-draft Read alongside: EULA / Terms of Use, User Content Policy.

We respect the intellectual property rights of others and expect users of the Service to do the same. This policy describes how to submit a copyright infringement notification under the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), 17 U.S.C. § 512, and how we respond.

This policy applies to any User Content posted on FishFinder Engine that allegedly infringes copyright — most often, photographs uploaded by users or text in catch notes, lure-library notes, or trip notes.

1. Designated DMCA agent

Send DMCA notices to our designated agent:

• Name: [DMCA Agent Name — placeholder]
• Title: Copyright Agent
• Company: [Company Legal Name] d/b/a FishFinder Engine
• Mailing address: 14200 Natalie Rd NE, Prior Lake, MN 55372, USA
• Email: [DMCA Email — recommended [email protected]]
• Telephone: [Phone — placeholder]

[Attorney Review Needed] — register the designated agent with the U.S. Copyright Office's online directory at https://www.copyright.gov/dmca-directory/. Without registration, the safe harbor is not available.

2. How to submit a DMCA takedown notice

To be effective under 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(3), your notice must be in writing and must include all of the following:

1. A physical or electronic signature of the copyright owner or a person authorized to act on the owner's behalf.
2. Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed (or, if multiple works, a representative list).
3. Identification of the material on the Service that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity, with enough information for us to locate it (URL, lake/profile/catch ID, screenshot, and any other identifier).
4. Your contact information — at least name, mailing address, telephone number, and email address.
5. A statement that you have a good-faith belief that the use of the material is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.
6. A statement, 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.

Notices that do not meet these requirements may not be acted upon.

3. Counter-notification

If we have removed material in response to a DMCA notice and you believe the material was removed by mistake or misidentification, you may submit a counter-notification under 17 U.S.C. § 512(g). The counter-notification must include:

1. Your physical or electronic signature.
2. Identification of the material that has been removed and its prior location.
3. A statement, under penalty of perjury, that you have a good-faith belief the material was removed as a result of mistake or misidentification.
4. Your name, address, and telephone number.
5. A statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of the federal district court for the judicial district in which your address is located (or, if outside the United States, the federal district court in the District of Minnesota), and that you will accept service of process from the original complainant.

Send counter-notifications to the same designated agent above.

4. What happens after we receive a notice

• Compliant takedown notice: we will remove or disable access to the material as soon as reasonably practicable and notify the user who posted it.
• Counter-notification: we will forward the counter-notification to the original complainant. Unless the complainant notifies us within 10 to 14 business days that they have filed a court action seeking to restrain the user, we may, at our discretion, restore the material.
• Repeat infringers: we will, in appropriate circumstances, terminate the accounts of users who repeatedly infringe.

5. False or abusive notices

Submitting a false or abusive DMCA notice (or counter-notice) may expose you to liability under 17 U.S.C. § 512(f), including damages, costs, and attorneys' fees. We may report patterns of abusive notices to law enforcement.

6. Other intellectual-property complaints (trademark, right of publicity, etc.)

For non-DMCA intellectual-property complaints (e.g., trademark, right of publicity, defamation, privacy), email [Contact Email] with:

• the work or right claimed;
• the location of the alleged violation on the Service;
• your relationship to the right;
• your contact information; and
• the relief you are seeking.

We review these on a case-by-case basis.

7. Changes

We may update this policy. Material changes will be posted at /dmca and announced via email and/or in-app notice.

[Attorney Review Needed] — register the DMCA agent with the U.S. Copyright Office, finalize the agent's contact details, and confirm the counter-notification jurisdictional language matches the chosen governing law in EULA_TERMS_OF_USE.md §15.

This document is a non-attorney first pass and is not legal advice.