This Repeat Infringer Policy describes the circumstances in which Episapient (we, us, our) terminates user accounts identified as repeat infringers of intellectual property rights, in compliance with section 512(i)(1)(A) of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (17 U.S.C. § 512) and equivalent laws in other jurisdictions.
"Notice" means a properly-formed DMCA Notice of Copyright Infringement, or an equivalent notice under another jurisdiction's intellectual-property laws (including the EU Digital Services Act Article 16 notice procedure described in the Terms Schedule E.5).
"Counter-Notice" means a counter-notification under 17 U.S.C. § 512(g)(3) by the user whose User Content was the subject of a Notice.
"Strike" means a finding by Episapient that a user's User Content was the subject of a substantively-valid Notice, where (a) the user did not file a Counter-Notice within 14 days, or (b) the user filed a Counter-Notice but the Notice and the underlying claim were ultimately resolved in favour of the complainant (whether by settlement, court order, or arbitral award).
Other capitalised terms used in this Policy have the meanings given to them in the Terms.
3.1 We use a three-strike framework to determine whether a user is a repeat infringer:
3.2 In appropriate circumstances and in our reasonable discretion, we may terminate an account before the Third Strike — including (without limitation) for a single Strike that involves egregious or wilful infringement, repeated infringement against the same complainant, or content that is itself unlawful (such as child sexual abuse material or terrorist content under clause 12 of the Terms).
3.3 Strikes expire 24 months after they are recorded, except that any Strike resulting in account termination is permanent.
4.1 A user may submit a Counter-Notice in respect of any Notice in accordance with 17 U.S.C. § 512(g)(3). A valid Counter-Notice must contain: (a) the user's physical or electronic signature; (b) identification of the User Content removed or disabled and the location at which it appeared before removal; (c) a statement under penalty of perjury of good-faith belief that the removal was a result of mistake or misidentification; and (d) the user's name, address, telephone number, and consent to the jurisdiction of the appropriate US federal district court (or, for non-US users, the appropriate court of competent jurisdiction).
4.2 On receipt of a valid Counter-Notice, we will forward it to the original complainant and inform the complainant that we will restore the User Content within 10–14 business days unless the complainant files an action seeking a court order to restrain the user.
4.3 If User Content is restored following a Counter-Notice, the corresponding Strike is removed from the user's record unless and until the underlying claim is resolved against the user.
5.1 Notices may be sent to copyright@episapvault.com.
5.2 Our designated DMCA agent's name, address, telephone, and email are filed with the US Copyright Office in accordance with 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(2). The current designated-agent details are available on the US Copyright Office's DMCA Designated Agent Directory at https://www.copyright.gov/dmca-directory/.
6.1 This Policy is also applied, with appropriate modifications, to notices received under the EU Digital Services Act Article 16 (see Terms Schedule E.5), to "takedown" requests under Australian, Indian, UK, and Canadian law, and to equivalent intellectual-property notice regimes in other jurisdictions.
6.2 For an EEA User: this Policy is implemented in a manner consistent with Articles 14, 16, and 17 of the Digital Services Act (Regulation (EU) 2022/2065), including the provision of statements of reasons and the option of out-of-court dispute settlement bodies certified under DSA Article 21.
Knowingly making a material misrepresentation in a Notice or Counter-Notice may result in liability for damages under 17 U.S.C. § 512(f) and equivalent laws. We reserve the right to seek any remedy available to us in respect of any such misrepresentation.
We may update this Policy from time to time. Material changes will be notified to users via the agreement gate and clause 18 of the Terms (and clause 9.3 in respect of Privacy Policy implications, where relevant).
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