Copyright and DMCA

This Copyright & DMCA Policy explains how Drift & Quill Publishing LLC ("Drift & Quill," "we," "us," or "our") handles copyright complaints, DMCA notices, counter-notices, content restrictions, restoration, and related copyright matters involving Content uploaded to the Drift & Quill Platform.

Drift & Quill operates a user-generated-content platform that permits independent Creators to publish works, including novels, short stories, webcomics, manga, fan fiction, and other creative works.

This policy describes Drift & Quill's copyright procedures and does not constitute legal advice or a determination that any particular use of copyrighted material is infringing.

1. Platform role

Drift & Quill is a technology platform that permits independent Creators to upload, publish, and make Content available to Users.

Creators, and not Drift & Quill, are responsible for determining whether they possess the rights, permissions, licenses, or other legal authority necessary to upload, publish, reproduce, distribute, display, monetize, or otherwise make their Content available through the Platform.

Drift & Quill does not generally review Creator Content before publication and does not represent or warrant that a Creator owns or is authorized to use particular Content.

Drift & Quill does not become the author, copyright owner, seller, agent, or legal representative of Creator Content merely by hosting, displaying, indexing, recommending, facilitating access to, or facilitating transactions involving that Content.

Nothing in this policy is intended to waive, limit, or disclaim any protection available to Drift & Quill under applicable law, including the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA"). Any statutory protection depends upon the requirements of applicable law and Drift & Quill's actual conduct and compliance with those requirements.

2. Creator responsibility for rights

Each Creator is solely responsible for determining whether the Creator has the legal right to upload, publish, reproduce, distribute, display, monetize, or otherwise make Content available through the Platform.

Creators must not use Drift & Quill to upload, publish, distribute, or monetize Content that infringes, misappropriates, or unlawfully uses another person's copyright or other intellectual-property rights.

A dispute concerning ownership, authorization, licensing, or other rights relating to Creator Content is generally a dispute between the applicable rights holder and the Creator. Drift & Quill may nevertheless remove, disable, restrict, unpublish, or otherwise take action concerning Content as required by law or permitted by this policy, the Terms of Service, or other Platform policies.

3. Designated DMCA agent

Drift & Quill has designated an agent to receive notifications of claimed copyright infringement in accordance with applicable law.

Drift & Quill may use a third-party service provider to serve as its designated DMCA agent and to receive, screen, process, and relay copyright notices on Drift & Quill's behalf.

Designated DMCA Agent: [INSERT DESIGNATED AGENT NAME OR ORGANIZATION]

Address: [INSERT DESIGNATED AGENT MAILING ADDRESS]

Telephone: [INSERT DESIGNATED AGENT TELEPHONE]

Email: [INSERT DESIGNATED AGENT EMAIL]

DMCA Portal: /terms/copyright-dmca

The designated agent information published above will be maintained and updated as required by applicable law.

4. DMCA Portal and alternative submission methods

Copyright owners or their authorized agents may submit qualifying copyright notices directly to Drift & Quill's designated DMCA agent using the contact information above.

Drift & Quill also provides an optional first-party DMCA Portal at /terms/copyright-dmca as a convenience and expedited intake mechanism.

A claimant does not need to create a Drift & Quill user account to submit a copyright notice through the DMCA Portal.

The DMCA Portal is designed to allow copyright notices to be routed directly into Drift & Quill's internal copyright-management system. Notices submitted through the Portal may therefore be processed more quickly through Drift & Quill's platform workflow.

A claimant may instead submit a qualifying notice directly to the designated DMCA agent. Notices submitted directly to the designated agent will be processed through the designated agent's applicable procedures and relayed to Drift & Quill as appropriate.

The availability of the first-party DMCA Portal does not replace or limit the claimant's ability to submit a qualifying notification directly to Drift & Quill's designated DMCA agent.

5. Requirements for a DMCA notice

A copyright owner or authorized agent may submit a notification seeking action under 17 U.S.C. § 512(c).

A qualifying notification should contain the information required by applicable law, including:

• An electronic or physical signature of the copyright owner or a person authorized to act on the owner's behalf;
• Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, where appropriate, a representative list of copyrighted works;
• Identification of the material claimed to be infringing and information reasonably sufficient to permit Drift & Quill to locate the material;
• Information reasonably sufficient to permit Drift & Quill or its designated agent to contact the complaining party, including the complainant's name, mailing address, telephone number, and email address;
• A statement that the complaining party has a good-faith belief that the complained-of use 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 copyright owner.

These requirements are based on the notification requirements of 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(3).

Drift & Quill or its designated agent may reject, defer, or request clarification concerning notifications that do not substantially comply with applicable law or that do not provide sufficient information to identify the allegedly infringing material.

Creator account identification Each Drift & Quill Creator has a unique public Creator account number displayed with the Creator's public profile and published works.

The first-party DMCA Portal requires the claimant to identify the Creator account associated with the reported Content.

The Creator account number is used as a Platform-level routing and verification mechanism. It allows Drift & Quill to:

• Route the complaint to the correct Creator;
• Verify that the reported work or chapter belongs to the identified Creator account;
• Reduce the risk of a complaint being directed at the wrong Creator;
• Prevent accidental or malicious misidentification of Content; and
• Maintain accurate claim records.

The Creator account number is a Platform routing and verification requirement and is not represented as an additional statutory element of a DMCA notification.

Where the Creator account number and reported Content do not correspond, Drift & Quill may reject the Portal submission, return it for correction, or request additional information before processing it.

A claimant who is unable to identify the applicable Creator account through the first-party Portal may submit a notification directly to the designated DMCA agent using the published agent contact information.

6. Claim Tracking ID and copyright dashboard

When a copyright notice is submitted through the Drift & Quill DMCA Portal, the claimant will receive a unique Claim Tracking ID by email.

The Claim Tracking ID allows the claimant to access the DMCA Public Dashboard and, where applicable:

• Review the status of the claim;
• Provide requested information;
• Upload supporting documentation;
• Respond to requests for clarification;
• Submit a counter-notification where applicable; and
• Submit information concerning a court action.

The Claim Tracking ID is unique to the individual claim and should be retained by the claimant.

Drift & Quill may use automated systems to record, route, track, and update copyright claims and related deadlines.

7. Notice to the affected Creator

A copyright owner does not need to contact a Creator before submitting a qualifying copyright notice.

Upon receiving a qualifying notice, Drift & Quill will take reasonable steps to notify the affected Creator through the Creator Dashboard and/or the email address associated with the Creator's account.

The Creator will receive information concerning the reported Content and the applicable copyright procedure, including information regarding the Creator's ability to submit a counter-notification where applicable.

8. Takedown and restriction of Content

For notices submitted through the Drift & Quill DMCA Portal, the identified Content may be automatically disabled or otherwise restricted upon submission while the notice is processed.

This automated restriction is a temporary Platform action and is not a determination by Drift & Quill that the Content infringes copyright.

For notices received through the designated DMCA agent or through other lawful channels, Drift & Quill may remove or disable access to the identified Content after receiving and processing the applicable notice.

Drift & Quill may also remove, disable, restrict, unpublish, demonetize, age-gate, or otherwise limit access to Content when permitted by law or under the Terms of Service or other Platform policies.

A takedown or restriction is not a legal determination regarding copyright ownership, infringement, fair use, authorization, or any other underlying dispute.

Drift & Quill may take voluntary action concerning Content even when a complaint does not constitute a legally sufficient DMCA notification.

9. Counter-notifications

Where the DMCA counter-notification procedure applies, a Creator whose Content has been removed or disabled may submit a formal counter-notification through the Creator Dashboard or another method designated by Drift & Quill.

A counter-notification must contain the information required by 17 U.S.C. § 512(g)(3), including:

1. The physical or electronic signature of the Creator;
2. Identification of the material that was removed or disabled and the location where the material appeared before removal or disabling;
3. A statement under penalty of perjury that the Creator has a good-faith belief that the material was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification;
4. The Creator's name, address, and telephone number; and
5. A statement that the Creator consents to the jurisdiction of the applicable Federal District Court and will accept service of process from the person who submitted the original notification or an agent of that person, as required by applicable law.

A counter-notification that does not substantially comply with applicable law may be rejected or returned for correction.

10. Counter-notice processing and restoration

Upon receiving a valid counter-notification:

• Drift & Quill will promptly provide the original complaining party with a copy of the counter-notification;
• The claim status will be updated to Counter-Notice Submitted;
• The original complaining party will be informed that the removed or disabled Content will be restored or access to the Content will be restored in accordance with 17 U.S.C. § 512(g), unless the designated DMCA agent receives timely notice that the complaining party has filed an action seeking a court order to restrain the Creator from engaging in the allegedly infringing activity; and
• The applicable counter-notification and related communications will be recorded as part of the claim's administrative record.

Under 17 U.S.C. § 512(g), Drift & Quill will replace the removed material or cease disabling access to it not less than 10 and not more than 14 business days following receipt of the valid counter-notification, unless the designated DMCA agent receives timely notice that the complaining party has filed an action seeking a court order concerning the allegedly infringing activity.

Submission of a counter-notification therefore does not result in immediate restoration.

If the applicable statutory requirements for restoration are satisfied and no timely qualifying court-action notice has been received by the designated DMCA agent, Drift & Quill will restore the Content or cease disabling access within the statutory period.

Drift & Quill may use automated systems to calculate applicable restoration deadlines and update claim status.

11. Court-action notifications

If the original complaining party files an action seeking a court order to restrain the Creator from engaging in allegedly infringing activity relating to the affected Content, the complaining party must provide timely notice to Drift & Quill's designated DMCA agent in accordance with applicable law.

Upon receiving qualifying notice of such an action, Drift & Quill may continue restricting the affected Content while the matter proceeds, subject to applicable law, court orders, and the Terms of Service.

The existence of a court action does not constitute a determination by Drift & Quill regarding the underlying copyright dispute.

12. Repeat infringers

Drift & Quill maintains a policy providing for the termination of accounts of repeat infringers in appropriate circumstances.

Drift & Quill will reasonably implement its repeat-infringer policy based on the circumstances of individual cases.

In determining whether an account presents a repeat-infringement pattern, Drift & Quill may consider factors including:

• Valid DMCA takedowns;
• Prior copyright enforcement actions;
• Court decisions;
• Admissions concerning infringement;
• Settlements or other reliable resolutions;
• Repeated unauthorized uploads;
• Repeated use of substantially similar infringing material; and
• Other reliable evidence relevant to repeated infringement.

Drift & Quill may suspend, restrict, or terminate an account where appropriate under its repeat-infringer policy and Terms of Service.

Drift & Quill may also apply additional intellectual-property restrictions where an account presents a substantial or unreasonable intellectual-property risk, even where a statutory repeat-infringer determination has not been established.

13. Misrepresentations and abuse of the DMCA process

A person who knowingly materially misrepresents that material or activity is infringing, or that material was removed or disabled by mistake or misidentification, may be subject to liability under applicable law, including 17 U.S.C. § 512(f).

Drift & Quill may restrict accounts or Platform features used to submit fraudulent, abusive, harassing, knowingly false, or systematically misleading copyright complaints.

Creators may likewise be responsible for damages arising from knowingly false or materially misleading counter-notifications or representations.

Drift & Quill may preserve records relating to suspected abuse of the copyright-notice or counter-notice process.

14. Other intellectual-property claims

This policy concerns copyright claims and procedures under the DMCA.

Trademark, publicity, privacy, trade-secret, defamation, plagiarism, passing-off, and other non-copyright complaints may be handled under separate Platform procedures.

Drift & Quill may remove, restrict, or disable Content where permitted by law, the Terms of Service, or other Platform policies.

Such action does not constitute an admission that Drift & Quill is liable for the underlying claim.

Creators remain responsible for obtaining and maintaining the rights, permissions, licenses, releases, and other authorizations necessary for their Content.

15. Preservation and disclosure

Drift & Quill may preserve Content, account information, communications, transaction records, claim records, logs, and other relevant information when reasonably necessary for:

• Legal compliance;
• Copyright or other intellectual-property disputes;
• Dispute resolution;
• Security;
• Fraud prevention;
• Enforcement of Platform policies;
• Protection of Drift & Quill, its Users, Creators, or third parties; or
• Compliance with valid legal process.

Drift & Quill may disclose information when required by law, valid legal process, or applicable regulatory requirements, or when reasonably necessary to protect Drift & Quill, its Users, Creators, or third parties.

16. No guarantee of continued availability

Content subject to a copyright or other intellectual-property complaint may be unavailable while the matter is reviewed, processed, or resolved.

Drift & Quill does not guarantee continued hosting, visibility, monetization, rankings, distribution, or availability of Content that is subject to a copyright or other intellectual-property dispute.

Nothing in this section limits any rights or obligations that may apply under applicable law.

17. Contact

Copyright notices may be submitted through the Drift & Quill DMCA Portal at:

/terms/copyright-dmca

or directly to Drift & Quill's designated DMCA agent using the contact information published in Section 3.

General customer-support communications may not constitute a valid DMCA notification.

Drift & Quill may update this policy from time to time to reflect changes to the Platform, applicable law, or its copyright procedures.

Legal This Copyright & DMCA Policy is provided to explain Drift & Quill's copyright procedures and Platform policies. It does not constitute legal advice and does not create obligations beyond those required by applicable law or expressly stated in the Terms of Service.

If this policy conflicts with the Drift & Quill Terms of Service, the Terms of Service control unless applicable law requires otherwise.