Thread Drops DMCA/CDPA Policy

1. Copyrights

1.1 When a person creates an original work that is fixed in a physical medium, that person automatically owns copyright to the work. Copyright ownership gives the owner the exclusive right to use the work in certain, specific ways. Many types of works are eligible for copyright protection, including audiovisual works, sound recordings and musical compositions, written works, visual works, video games and computer software, and dramatic works.

1.2 In some circumstances, it is possible to use a copyrighted work without infringing the owner’s copyright. For example, in the United States, copyrights are limited by the doctrine of “fair use,” which permits certain uses of copyrighted material, such as parody, satire, and social commentary. In the UK, a similar concept called “fair dealing” allows limited use of copyrighted material for purposes such as criticism, review, and news reporting.

1.3 Thread Drops accepts unsolicited designs from independent artists who are informed of and have agreed to Thread Drops’ policies concerning the intellectual property rights of others. Pursuant to those policies, all designs submitted to Thread Drops are to be new, original, and/or transformative works. To the extent they depict or utilize the copyrighted works of others, they do so in order to parody, satirize, or provide social commentary on such other copyrighted works, or otherwise make fair use of them.

1.4 The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), 17 U.S.C. § 512, provides recourse for copyright owners who believe that material appearing on the Internet infringes their rights under U.S. copyright law. Similarly, in the UK, the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA) provides protection for copyright owners. It is Thread Drops’ policy to respond to notices of alleged infringement that comply with the requirements of the DMCA and CDPA. Thread Drops’ response may include removing or disabling access to a design claimed to be infringing. If Thread Drops removes or disables access in response to such a notice, Thread Drops will make a good-faith attempt to contact the independent artist who submitted the design to Thread Drops so that the artist may decide whether to make a counter-notification pursuant to Section 512(g)(2) and (3) of the DMCA or the relevant provisions of the CDPA.

1.5 Please refer to the following detailed instructions which must be followed to protect your rights under the DMCA and CDPA.

2. Instructions for Copyright Owners

2.1 Thread Drops will only respond to notifications that contain the following:

2.1.1 A description of the design that is claimed to be infringing and its URL on the Thread Drops website.

2.1.2 A complete description of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed or, if multiple copyrighted works are claimed to have been infringed, a representative list of such works and descriptions thereof. The description should identify all related copyright registration numbers.

2.1.3 A statement providing the basis for the complaint.

2.1.4 The following contact information:

2.1.4.1 The complaining party’s full legal name.

2.1.4.2 The authorized agent’s full legal name (if applicable).

2.1.4.3 A postal address for contacting the complaining party.

2.1.4.4 An e-mail address for contacting the complaining party.

2.1.4.5 A phone number for contacting the complaining party.

2.1.5 The following statements:

2.1.5.1 “UNDER PENALTY OF PERJURY, I 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.”

2.1.5.2 “UNDER PENALTY OF PERJURY, I swear or affirm that the information provided in this notification is accurate, and that I am the owner or am authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.”

2.1.5.3 “I acknowledge that under Section 512(f) of the DMCA or the relevant provisions of the CDPA, any person who knowingly materially misrepresents that material or activity is infringing may be subject to liability for damages.”

2.1.6 A physical or electronic signature of the complaining party or the authorized agent thereof.

2.1.7 Your authority for submitting the notification (e.g., copyright owner, authorized agent of copyright owner).

2.2 The complaining party or authorized agent thereof should file the notification by contacting Thread Drops directly via our Contact Us page with the subject as "Legal."

2.3 Upon receipt of a complete notification that complies with the above requirements, Thread Drops may remove or disable access to the design that is claimed to be infringing from the Thread Drops website. The independent artist who submitted the design will be forwarded a copy of the notification and will be alerted that access to the design has been removed or disabled.

3. Instructions for Independent Artists

3.1 If Thread Drops removes or disables access to your submitted content in response to a DMCA or CDPA notice, and you believe in good faith that your content has been removed as a result of mistake or misidentification, you may submit a written counter-notification pursuant to Sections 512(g)(2) and (3) of the DMCA or the relevant provisions of the CDPA.

3.2 Thread Drops will only respond to counter-notifications that contain the following as required by the DMCA and CDPA:

3.2.1 A description of the design that has been removed or disabled and its URL at the Thread Drops website before access to the design was removed or disabled.

3.2.2 A statement why the claim of copyright infringement should be rejected.

3.2.3 The following contact information:

3.2.3.1 The responding party’s full legal name.

3.2.3.2 The authorized agent’s full legal name (if applicable).

3.2.3.3 A postal address for contacting the responding party.

3.2.3.4 An e-mail address for contacting the responding party.

3.2.3.5 A phone number for contacting the responding party.

3.2.4 The following statements:

3.2.4.1 “UNDER PENALTY OF PERJURY, I have 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.”

3.2.4.2 “I consent to the jurisdiction of the Federal District Court where I am located (for US-based artists) or the jurisdiction of the relevant UK court (for UK-based artists).”

3.2.4.3 “I will accept service of process from the person who provided notification under Section 512(c)(1)(C) of the DMCA or the equivalent section of the CDPA, or the agent of such person.”

3.2.4.4 “I acknowledge that under Section 512(f) of the DMCA or the relevant provisions of the CDPA, any person who knowingly materially misrepresents that material or activity was removed or disabled by mistake or misidentification may be subject to liability for damages.”

3.2.5 A physical or electronic signature of the responding party or authorized agent thereof.

3.2.6 Your authority for submitting the counter-notification (e.g., independent artist who submitted the design, authorized agent of independent artist who submitted the design).

3.3 The responding party or the authorized agent thereof should file the notification by contacting Thread Drops directly via our Contact Us page with the subject as "Legal."

3.4 If Thread Drops receives your counter-notification, but your design does not comply with the Thread Drops Artist’s Agreement and/or the Thread Drops Terms of Use, Thread Drops may inform you that we are not able to reinstate your work. Thread Drops may also request further information from you to determine whether the work can be reinstated.

3.5 If Thread Drops receives a proper counter-notification from you, Thread Drops may forward it (including the contact information in Section 3.2.3) to the complaining party or authorized agent thereof. At that time, the complaining party may take legal action against you in Federal District Court or the relevant UK court. If after 14 days the complaining party has not taken legal action against you, you may contact Thread Drops to request that we reinstate your work. If your work otherwise complies with the Thread Drops Artist’s Agreement and/or the Thread Drops Terms of Use, Thread Drops may reinstate your work at that time.

3.6 If you are found to repeatedly submit infringing designs, your account will be suspended. Serious offenders will have their account deactivated and will be permanently banned from submitting designs. In addition, if you are found deliberately misrepresenting the copyrighted work of another as your own, your account will be immediately deactivated and you will be permanently banned from submitting designs.