Copyright

The Spiritual Agency respects the intellectual property rights of others, and expects users of our services to do the same. This policy describes how to report content hosted on our services that you believe infringes your copyright, how we handle such reports, and how to file a counter-notice if your content has been taken down in error.

1. Scope and statutory framework

This policy is modelled on the notice-and-takedown procedure of the United States Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), 17 USC § 512. Because we are a UK-headquartered organisation that hosts content accessible from multiple jurisdictions, we apply this procedure as a matter of practice irrespective of whether the formal safe-harbor mechanism is available to us in any particular case. For the avoidance of doubt: The Spiritual Agency LLC has not registered a designated DMCA agent with the US Copyright Office, and we make no representation that we qualify for the § 512(c) safe harbor in any specific dispute. The procedure below is the practical route for raising and handling copyright complaints with us.

UK copyright law (the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988) and EU copyright law (notably Directive 2019/790 where it applies in the EEA) also apply to content hosted by us. Where local law sets a different procedure (for example, requiring a specific form of notice), our handling will follow that procedure for content concerning that jurisdiction.

2. How to file an infringement notice

If you believe content hosted on our services infringes a copyright you own or control, send a written notice to legal@spiritual.agency including all of the following:

  1. Identification of the copyrighted work you claim has been infringed. If the claim concerns multiple works, a representative list is acceptable as long as each can be identified.
  2. Identification of the allegedly infringing material: specifically, the URL or other unique identifier of the content on our services and enough information for us to locate it.
  3. Your contact information: name, postal address, telephone number, and email address.
  4. A statement, made in good faith, that you believe the use of the material is not authorised by the copyright owner, the copyright owner’s agent, or the law.
  5. A statement, made under penalty of perjury (where the jurisdiction recognises that formula) and otherwise made truthfully, that the information in the notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorised to act on the owner’s behalf.
  6. Your physical or electronic signature.

If your notice omits any of these elements, we may not be able to act on it and will ask you to supplement. If you knowingly send a materially misrepresentative notice, you may be liable for damages, costs, and attorneys’ fees under 17 USC § 512(f) or equivalent law.

3. What happens after we receive a notice

When we receive a complete notice that appears to be valid:

  1. We acknowledge receipt to the notifier within five working days.
  2. We assess the claim. Where the infringement is clear (verbatim copying of a substantial portion, content for which you hold registered copyright, content posted without any apparent licence), we expedite. Where the matter is contestable (fair-dealing or fair-use argument, claim of independent creation, counter-claim of ownership), we may require additional information.
  3. If we determine that takedown is appropriate, we remove or disable access to the material and notify the user who uploaded it (the “subscriber”) that we have done so, providing them with a copy of your notice and explaining their right to file a counter-notice.
  4. We log the takedown in our internal records for the period the law requires.

We do not adjudicate copyright disputes ourselves. Our role is to apply a notice-and-takedown procedure proportionately; the underlying copyright dispute is for the parties to resolve, or for a court to decide.

4. Counter-notice procedure

If your content was taken down in response to an infringement notice and you believe the takedown was wrong (because you have the right to publish the content, because it falls within fair dealing or fair use, because of mistaken identification), you may file a counter-notice.

Send your counter-notice to legal@spiritual.agency including:

  1. Identification of the material that was removed and the location where it appeared before removal.
  2. Your contact information: name, postal address, telephone number, and email address.
  3. A statement, made under penalty of perjury (or otherwise made truthfully), that you have a good-faith belief that the material was removed as a result of mistake or misidentification.
  4. Consent to the jurisdiction of the United States Federal District Court for the judicial district in which your address is located, or if your address is outside the US, for any judicial district in which we may be found, and that you will accept service of process from the person who filed the original notice or their agent.
  5. Your physical or electronic signature.

Once we receive a valid counter-notice, we forward it to the original notifier. If the original notifier does not commence legal action within 10 to 14 business days (the window varies by jurisdiction), we may restore the removed material. Where the dispute proceeds to court, we await the court’s direction.

5. Repeat infringers

We terminate accounts of users who repeatedly infringe the copyright of others. Repetition is judged on the facts of the case; we do not apply a mechanical “three strikes” rule, but persistent or wilful infringement (especially where the user ignores prior takedowns or attempts to repost removed content) will result in account termination.

6. Trademark and other intellectual property claims

For trademark, trade-dress, design-right, or other non-copyright intellectual property claims, please contact legal@spiritual.agency with: identification of the right you are asserting, identification of the allegedly infringing content, your contact information, and the basis of your claim. We handle non-copyright IP complaints case-by-case rather than under a standard takedown procedure.

7. Misuse

Submitting bad-faith infringement notices is a serious matter. Where a notice is materially misrepresentative, we may decline to act on future notices from the same source without independent verification. Where the misrepresentation causes loss to the subscriber, the subscriber may have remedies against the notifier under § 512(f) or equivalent law.

8. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The “last updated” date at the top reflects the most recent change. If we begin to register a designated DMCA agent with the US Copyright Office, this page will be updated to reflect that.

9. Contact

For DMCA-style infringement notices, counter-notices, and other intellectual-property complaints: legal@spiritual.agency.