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Compliance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998
HIGHERGROUND is committed to full compliance with U.S. copyright law, and expects its users to do the same. Accordingly, as a courtesy, HIGHERGROUND is providing the following information regarding its understanding of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 ("DMCA") concerning notice of claimed online copyright infringement. HIGHERGROUND is not providing legal advice. Any persons wishing to assert or oppose a claim under the DMCA should consult their own legal adviser concerning these matters.
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 ("DMCA") provides recourse for owners of copyrighted material who believe that their rights under U.S. copyright laws have been infringed online. Under the DMCA, copyright owners may contact the authorized agent of an Internet service provider to report alleged infringements based on unauthorized use of their protected works appearing on web pages hosted by the service provider. Upon receipt of properly filed complaints satisfying the requirements of the DMCA, HIGHERGROUND will remove or block access to the allegedly infringing material posted by third party users of the HIGHERGROUND websites. If a HIGHERGROUND user who posted such material believes in good faith that a notice of copyright infringement has been wrongly filed, the user may submit a counter-notice to assert a private dispute with the claimed copyright owner. HIGHERGROUND will not be a party to such disputes over alleged copyright infringement.
More information on U.S. copyright law can be found at the following websites:
· http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode17/usc_sup_01_17.html
· http://www.copyright.gov/
If you believe in good faith that information posted by a user on HIGHERGROUND Online violates your rights under U.S. copyright law, you may notify HIGHERGROUND in the manner described below. You should be aware that U.S. copyright law provides substantial penalties for false claims of copyright infringement. According to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 ("DMCA"), claimants who make misrepresentations concerning copyright infringement may be liable for damages incurred as a result of the removal or blocking of the material, court costs, and attorney’s fees.
Notice and Procedure for Making Claims of Copyright Infringement regarding Materials on HIGHERGROUND Online
You may give HIGHERGROUND written notification of your claim in accordance with the requirements of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 as provided in the DMCA and summarized below.
Written notification of your claim must be submitted to the following Designated Agent to Receive Notification of Claimed Infringement:
Name: Debe Nease
Address: 14781 Memorial Dr, Ste 559 Houston Texas 77079 .
Telephone Number: (281) 920-3050
E-mail Address: admin@higherground.com
To be effective, the notification must include the following:
1. A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed;
2. Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or if multiple copyrighted works at a single online website are covered by a single notification, a representative list of works at that site;
3. 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;
4. Information reasonably sufficient to permit HIGHERGROUND 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;
5. 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
6. 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.
7. Upon receipt of the written notification containing the information as outlined in paragraphs 1) through 6) above:
HIGHERGROUND shall remove or disable access to the material that is alleged to be infringing and shall forward the written notification to such alleged infringer;
HIGHERGROUND shall take reasonable steps to promptly notify the alleged infringer that it has removed or disabled access to the material.
Counter Notification.
A person who receives a notification of alleged copyright infringement, and believes that the claim is erroneous, may submit a counter notification to HIGHERGROUND's Designated Agent.
To be effective, a counter notification must be a written communication that includes substantially the following:
1. A physical or electronic signature of the person submitting the counter notification;
2. 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;
3. A statement under penalty of perjury that the person submitting the counter notification has a good faith belief that the material was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification of the material or the owner of the rights to be removed or disabled; and
4. The person's name, address, and telephone number, and a statement that the he or she consents to the jurisdiction of federal district court for the judicial district in which the address is located, or if the person's address is outside of the United States, for any judicial district in which HIGHERGROUND may be found, and that the person will accept service of process from the complaining party or an agent of such person.
5. Upon receipt of a counter notification containing the information as outlined in paragraphs 1) through 4) above:
HIGHERGROUND shall promptly provide the complaining party with a copy of the Counter Notification; and
HIGHERGROUND shall inform the complaining party that it will replace the removed material or cease disabling access to it within ten (10) business days.
HIGHERGROUND 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 HIGHERGROUND's Designated Agent has not received notice from the complaining party that an
action has been filed seeking a court order to restrain the alleged infringer from engaging in infringing activity on HIGHERGROUND's Web sites.
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