Copyright and strikes

A copyright complaint is not a guideline report and is not judged like one. Surf is not deciding whether something is offensive; it is handling a legal claim of ownership, and the process is set by law rather than by us.

Filing a notice

File through Report a problem. A notice can name a post, a story, a message or a live broadcast. Filing in bad faith carries its own legal consequences, which is why the form asks you to say who you are and what you own rather than letting you report anonymously.

Strikes

A valid notice holds a strike against the account that published the content. The strike stands while the notice stands: if the notice is withdrawn or rejected, it stops counting.

At three strikes, a repeat-infringer review opens on the account. Crossing the threshold does not delete anything by itself. A person reviews it and decides, deliberately, because an automatic ban at three would turn a bad-faith notice into an account deletion with nobody in the loop.

Counter notice

If your content was removed and you believe the claim is wrong, you can file a counter notice. The content is restored 10 business days later unless the person who filed goes to court in the meantime. Business days are counted properly, so a Friday counter notice is not due the following Monday.

What a removal leaves behind

Every removal records what was removed, on what basis, and by whom, and every takedown carries a route back. Nothing is removed on a claim that leaves no trace of having been made.