Copyright and DMCA policy
Aletay respects the intellectual property of others and expects the authors who publish here to do the same. This page explains how to report infringement, what we do about it, and what happens to accounts that infringe repeatedly.
Designated agent
Notices of claimed copyright infringement should be sent to our designated agent, registered with the United States Copyright Office:
You do not need an Aletay account to send a notice. The fastest route is the form below, which collects everything the law requires.
File a takedown notice →What a notice must contain
Under 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(3), a valid notice must include all of the following. Our form collects each one.
- A physical or electronic signature of the copyright owner or a person authorized to act on their behalf.
- Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed.
- Identification of the material claimed to be infringing, with enough detail for us to locate it.
- Your address, telephone number, and email address.
- A statement that you have a good faith belief the use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.
- A statement, under penalty of perjury, that the information is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on their behalf.
A submission missing the sworn statements is not a valid notice, and we cannot act on it.
What happens when we receive a notice
- Our agent reviews it. If it is valid, we remove or disable access to the material expeditiously.
- We notify the author that their work was removed, and we forward them your notice, including your contact information. This is required by law.
- We record a strike against the author's account.
- The author may file a counter-notice. If they do, we forward it to you.
If your work was removed by mistake
Authors whose work is removed receive an email with a link to file a counter-notice under 17 U.S.C. § 512(g)(3). Filing one is a serious step: we are required to send your name, address, and telephone number to the person who filed the notice, and you consent to the jurisdiction of a federal court.
Once we forward a valid counter-notice, we restore the material within 10 to 14 business days unless the complainant tells us they have filed a court action. A successful counter-notice also reverses the strike on the account.
Repeat infringer policy
Aletay terminates the publishing accounts of repeat infringers. The policy is simple and we apply it:
- Each takedown notice we uphold records one strike against the author's account. Notices we reject do not.
- A strike is reversed if the work is restored — for example, after a successful counter-notice.
- At 3 strikes, the account loses the ability to publish on Aletay, and any remaining published works are unpublished.
- Termination affects publishing only. Books the person purchased remain in their library.
We tell authors their strike count each time one is recorded, so nobody is terminated without warning.
False claims
Under 17 U.S.C. § 512(f), anyone who knowingly and materially misrepresents that material is infringing — or that it was removed by mistake — may be liable for damages, including costs and attorneys' fees. Please consider whether the use might be authorized or a fair use before you file.
Trademark and other concerns
The DMCA covers copyright only. For trademark concerns, impersonation, plagiarism, or other issues, use the report link on the work itself, or contact us through the support page.
Support →