Copyright on Hooj
Hooj respects copyright and expects users to do the same. This Copyright and DMCA Policy applies to posts, stories, photos, videos, text, music, graphics, listings, event and organization materials, profile content, messages where legally reviewable, website content, and other material available through Hooj.
Users retain ownership of their original content while granting Hooj the operational license described in the Terms of Service. You may upload content only when you own it, have permission, hold an applicable license, or otherwise have a lawful basis such as fair use.
This policy addresses copyright. Trademark, impersonation, privacy, harassment, safety, and prohibited-content concerns should be reported through Hooj's in-app reporting tools or support@hooj.app.
Before sending a copyright notice
Only a copyright owner or a person authorized to act for the owner should submit a DMCA notice. Consider whether the material is authorized, licensed, in the public domain, or protected by an exception such as fair use before requesting removal.
A disagreement, criticism, unfavorable review, similar idea, use of a name, or ownership dispute is not automatically copyright infringement. Copyright generally protects original expression, not facts, ideas, systems, titles, or short phrases by themselves.
When appropriate, contacting the creator may resolve a concern quickly. You are not required to contact the creator before sending a legally valid notice.
What a copyright notice must include
Send a written notice to the copyright contact listed below. To be effective under 17 U.S.C. Section 512(c)(3), the notice must include substantially all of the following:
- A physical or electronic signature of the copyright owner or a person authorized to act for the owner.
- Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to be infringed, or a representative list when one notice covers multiple works on Hooj.
- Identification of the allegedly infringing material and information reasonably sufficient for Hooj to locate it, such as the exact Hooj URL, content type, username, event or listing identifier, and a screenshot when useful.
- Your name, mailing address, telephone number, and email address.
- A statement that you have a good-faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.
- A statement that the information in the notice is accurate and, under penalty of perjury, that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act for the owner.
Describing a profile or organization generally may not be enough. Identify each item you want Hooj to review and where it appears.
How Hooj processes notices
Hooj may review a notice for completeness, request missing information, and evaluate whether it identifies material hosted or linked through Hooj. A deficient notice may delay or prevent action.
When Hooj receives a substantially complete notice and acts in good faith, we may remove or disable access to the identified material and take reasonable steps to notify the affected user. Hooj may provide the user with a copy or summary of the notice, including the claimant's contact information.
Removal is not a court finding that infringement occurred, and leaving material available is not a finding that the use is lawful. Hooj does not adjudicate ownership, licensing, fair use, or contractual disputes.
Hooj may forward a notice to service providers that host or deliver the material, preserve relevant records, or take other steps required by law or reasonably necessary to protect rights and the Service.
What a counter-notice must include
If your material was removed or disabled because of mistake or misidentification, you may send a written counter-notice. Under 17 U.S.C. Section 512(g)(3), it must include substantially all of the following:
- Your physical or electronic signature.
- Identification of the material that was removed or disabled and the location where it appeared before removal.
- A statement under penalty of perjury that you have a good-faith belief the material was removed or disabled because of mistake or misidentification.
- Your name, mailing address, and telephone number.
- A statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of the federal district court for the judicial district where your address is located, or, if your address is outside the United States, any judicial district where Hooj may be found.
- A statement that you will accept service of process from the person who submitted the original notice or that person's agent.
Hooj may reject or request clarification of a counter-notice that is incomplete, unrelated to a DMCA removal, or does not contain the required legal statements.
What happens after a counter-notice
Hooj may send the counter-notice to the original claimant. This means the counter-notice submitter's name, address, telephone number, legal statements, and other included information can be disclosed to that claimant.
Unless the claimant informs Hooj that it filed an action seeking a court order to restrain the user from infringing activity, Hooj may restore the material no sooner than 10 and no later than 14 business days after forwarding a valid counter-notice, subject to technical availability, account status, other policy violations, and applicable law.
A restoration under this process does not prevent the parties from pursuing legal rights and does not mean Hooj determined that the content is non-infringing.
Repeat-infringer policy
Hooj has adopted and reasonably implements a policy to terminate, in appropriate circumstances, users who repeatedly infringe copyright. Hooj may consider valid notices, counter-notices, retractions, court decisions, repeated removals, apparent bad faith, account relationships, and other relevant evidence.
Hooj may warn, limit distribution, remove content, restrict uploads, suspend features, preserve evidence, or terminate an account before or in addition to permanent termination. Hooj retains reasonable discretion because notice volume alone does not always establish infringement and abusive notices can occur.
Creating another account to evade a copyright restriction or termination violates the Terms of Service.
Standard technical measures
Hooj accommodates and does not interfere with standard technical measures used by copyright owners to identify or protect copyrighted works when those measures meet the requirements of 17 U.S.C. Section 512(i), are available on reasonable and nondiscriminatory terms, and do not impose substantial costs or burdens on Hooj.
This provision does not promise that Hooj uses every fingerprinting, filtering, watermarking, rights-management, or content-recognition technology.
False claims and misrepresentation
Do not knowingly make a material misrepresentation that content is infringing or that content was removed by mistake. Under 17 U.S.C. Section 512(f), a person who knowingly makes certain material misrepresentations may be liable for damages, costs, and attorneys' fees.
Abusing the copyright process to silence criticism, harass another user, expose personal information, manipulate competition, or remove authorized content may also violate Hooj's Terms and lead to account action.
Records, disclosure, and privacy
Hooj may retain notices, counter-notices, removed-content references, account information, correspondence, actions, and repeat-infringer records for legal compliance, safety, fraud prevention, dispute handling, and enforcement.
Information may be disclosed to the affected user, claimant, hosting or media provider, legal advisor, court, law-enforcement agency, or other party when necessary for the process or required by law. Do not include sensitive information beyond what the legal notice requires.
See the Privacy Policy for additional information about retention, legal disclosures, and privacy requests.
Hooj copyright contact
Send copyright notices and counter-notices to:
Copyright Compliance
Hooj, LLC
legal@hooj.app
Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, United States
Use the subject line DMCA Notice or DMCA Counter-Notice. Email is currently the fastest way to reach the copyright contact. General support requests sent as DMCA notices may be redirected.
Policy changes
Hooj may update this policy to reflect legal requirements, Copyright Office guidance, product changes, or operational improvements. We will update the date above and provide additional notice where required.
Questions that are not formal notices can be sent to support@hooj.app or legal@hooj.app.