Twiikle DMCA & Copyright Policy

This English-language DMCA Policy is the governing version. Translations into other languages are provided for convenience only. In the event of any conflict, this English version shall prevail.

This DMCA Policy forms part of our Terms of Service and our Privacy Policy.

Table of Contents

1. Overview & Safe Harbor Compliance

Twiikle, Inc. ("Twiikle," "we," "our," "us") respects the intellectual property rights of others and expects users of the Twiikle Service to do the same. We comply with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 ("DMCA"), 17 U.S.C. § 512, and operate under the Section 512(c) Safe Harbor framework for online service providers.

1.1 Safe Harbor Conditions We Satisfy

To maintain Safe Harbor protection, Twiikle complies with all five statutory conditions under 17 U.S.C. § 512(c):

2. Designated DMCA Agent

In accordance with 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(2), Twiikle has designated an agent to receive notifications of claimed copyright infringement. The Designated Agent is registered with the U.S. Copyright Office at dmca.copyright.gov.

3. How Twiikle Differs From Other Platforms

Twiikle is built on the DMCA Safe Harbor framework but adopts three deliberate operational choices that distinguish us from larger platforms (e.g., YouTube). These choices are documented here for transparency to both rightsholders and creators.

3.1 No Content ID — By Design

3.2 Long-Term Strategy: From Takedown to Revenue-Share

Twiikle's long-term policy goal is to convert adversarial takedown relationships into commercial partnerships: rightsholders who would otherwise issue takedowns may opt into a future revenue-share program, in which their content remains live on Twiikle in exchange for a share of attributable affiliate commissions. This is a forward-looking policy commitment, not a current feature. Until launched, the standard Safe Harbor takedown procedure governs.

4. Five-Step Takedown Notice Procedure

Twiikle accepts DMCA takedown notices through a structured five-step form. The form is available both in-app (Settings > Report > Copyright Infringement) and via web (https://twiikle.com/dmca).

The form is designed to ensure that every notice satisfies 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(3) and to deter abuse. Each step requires affirmative input — copy-paste of boilerplate is detected and rejected at the perjury-attestation step.

5. Required Elements of a Valid Notice

To be effective under § 512(c)(3)(A), a notification must include all six statutory elements. Our Takedown form is designed to elicit all six:

1. Physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the rightsholder
2. Identification of the copyrighted work (or representative list where multiple works)
3. Identification of the allegedly infringing material with reasonably sufficient information to locate it
4. Contact information (address, phone, email) of the complainant
5. Statement of good-faith belief that use is not authorized
6. Statement under penalty of perjury that the information is accurate and that the complainant is authorized to act

Notices missing any element may be deemed insufficient. We may, but are not required to, respond to insufficient notices with a request for the missing information.

6. What Happens After a Valid Notice

7. Counter-Notification Procedure

If you believe your content was removed or disabled by mistake or misidentification, you may submit a Counter-Notification under 17 U.S.C. § 512(g). Counter-Notifications must include all elements required by § 512(g)(3):

1. Your physical or electronic signature
2. Identification of the material removed and its prior location
3. Statement under penalty of perjury that you have a good-faith belief the material was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification
4. Your name, address, and telephone number
5. Consent to the jurisdiction of the U.S. District Court for the district in which your address is located (or, if outside the U.S., for any judicial district in which Twiikle may be found), and acceptance of service of process from the complainant

Counter-Notifications are submitted via the same Five-Step form, reconfigured as a Counter-Notice flow. Upon receipt of a valid Counter-Notice, we forward it to the original complainant and inform them that we will restore the material in 10–14 business days unless we receive notice that they have filed an action seeking a court order.

8. Three-Strike Repeat-Infringer Policy

Pursuant to 17 U.S.C. § 512(i)(1)(A), Twiikle has adopted and reasonably implements a policy for the termination of subscribers and account holders who are repeat infringers.

8.1 Strike Schedule

8.2 Strike Expiry & Removal

• Strikes expire 12 months after they are issued, provided the uploader has no further sustained takedowns during that period
• A successful Counter-Notification (where the rightsholder does not pursue court action within the statutory period) results in strike removal and content restoration
• A withdrawn or retracted notice (e.g., the complainant concedes mistake) also removes the associated strike

8.3 Music Strikes Are Tracked Separately

Strikes for music copyright (mechanical, synchronization, and sound-recording rights) are recorded under a parallel ledger because the rights structure differs. See §9.

8.4 Community Guidelines Strikes Are Separate

DMCA strikes (§8) and community-guidelines strikes (e.g., harassment, spam) are tracked under independent ledgers. Accruing one type does not contribute to the other.

9. Music Copyright (Special Handling)

Music copyright is structurally distinct from other categories because a single recording typically embodies multiple rights (composition, sound recording, mechanical, performance, synchronization). For details, see our internal review document 음악_저작권_법적검토.html. Key operational points:

• Tagging vs. Playback: Twiikle permits tagging of music to identify it (similar to "Now Playing" metadata) but does not host or stream full master recordings absent a license
• No Audio Fingerprinting at Upload: Consistent with §3, we do not run audio-matching against rightsholder reference catalogs at upload time
• Takedown Acceptance: We accept and process DMCA notices from labels, publishers, PROs (ASCAP, BMI, SESAC), and synchronization licensors via the same Five-Step procedure
• Future Licensing: Long-term, Twiikle intends to negotiate blanket or per-track licenses with major rightsholders; until such licenses are in place, the default is takedown-on-notice

10. Fair Use Considerations

Fair use (17 U.S.C. § 107) is a recognized defense to copyright infringement in the United States. Before filing a takedown notice, complainants are required by law to consider whether the challenged use is fair use. See Lenz v. Universal Music Corp., 815 F.3d 1145 (9th Cir. 2016) ("the Dancing Baby case").

Uploaders who believe their use is fair (e.g., commentary, criticism, parody, news reporting, education, transformative use) may assert this position in a Counter-Notification (§7). Twiikle does not adjudicate fair-use questions itself; we follow the statutory notice-and-takedown / counter-notice procedure and defer fair-use determinations to the parties or to a court.

11. False or Misleading Notices — Section 512(f)

17 U.S.C. § 512(f) creates civil liability for any person who knowingly materially misrepresents that material is infringing or that material was removed by mistake. Twiikle:

• Logs every notice and counter-notice with timestamps, IP, and signed attestation
• Will preserve and produce such logs in response to valid legal process
• Reserves the right to refuse future notices from filers we determine, in our reasonable judgment, have a pattern of bad-faith or fraudulent submissions
• May pursue 512(f) recovery itself where it has suffered damages from misrepresentation

Bad-faith notices also waste the time of legitimate creators and our moderation team. Please file responsibly.

12. International Copyright Frameworks

While the DMCA is a U.S. statute, Twiikle accepts and processes copyright complaints from rightsholders worldwide. Functionally, the Five-Step procedure satisfies the formal-complaint requirements of several major foreign frameworks:

For jurisdictions with different procedural requirements, complainants may attach jurisdiction-specific supporting documents. Twiikle's governing law is the law of the State of Delaware, United States.

13. Privacy & Confidentiality of DMCA Process

The DMCA contemplates that the contact details in a notice will be shared with the alleged infringer. To balance transparency and privacy:

• By default, we forward the complainant's name, the identification of the work, and the URLs to the uploader. We may redact direct phone numbers and street addresses unless the uploader files a Counter-Notice (at which point full contact disclosure is required by § 512(g)(3))
• Complainants who wish all of their contact details forwarded immediately may opt in at submission time
• DMCA notice records are retained for 7 years for compliance with our Repeat-Infringer policy and for legal-process response (see Privacy Policy §6.5)
• Where notice records are produced in response to valid legal process, we will, where lawful and practicable, notify the affected user

14. Policy Changes

• We may update this DMCA Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, judicial interpretation, or our operational practices
• Material changes will be announced via in-app notification and via the "Last Updated" date above
• The policy in effect on the date a notice is received governs that notice

15. Contact Information

Twiikle, Inc.
Delaware C-Corporation
DMCA Designated Agent — registered with the U.S. Copyright Office at dmca.copyright.gov.

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