DMCA Policy for Toned Tops
Toned Tops is committed to respecting the intellectual property rights of others and to complying with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), 17 U.S.C. § 512, and other applicable laws. This DMCA policy governs how Toned Tops handles notices of alleged copyright infringement and outlines our procedures for responding to such notices. Toned Tops also provides instructions for independent artists who submit designs to our website.
- Copyright Ownership and Fair Use
When a person creates an original work that is fixed in a physical medium, that person automatically owns copyright to the work. Copyright ownership gives the owner the exclusive right to use the work in certain, specific ways. Many types of works are eligible for copyright protection, including audiovisual works, sound recordings and musical compositions, written works, visual works, video games and computer software, and dramatic works. In some circumstances, it is possible to use a copyrighted work without infringing the owner’s copyright. For example, in the United States, copyrights are limited by the doctrine of “fair use,” which permits certain uses of copyrighted material, such as parody, satire, and social commentary.
- Notice and Takedown Procedures
It is Toned Tops’ policy to respond to notices of alleged infringement that comply with the DMCA and other applicable laws. If Toned Tops receives a proper notification from a complaining party or authorized agent thereof, Toned Tops will immediately comply. This is a legal requirement; you will not receive advance warning and you will not be given an opportunity to “fix it” first.
Toned Tops accepts unsolicited designs from independent artists who are informed and have agreed to Toned Tops’ policies concerning the intellectual property rights of others. All designs selected by Toned Tops are new, original, and/or transformative works that may parody, satirize, or provide social commentary on other copyrighted works. Toned Tops and the selected designs make only fair use of the copyrighted works of others. Toned Tops respects the copyrights of others, and Toned Tops is not affiliated with the owners of the copyrights to which the selected designs may refer.
If Toned Tops removes or disables access to a design claimed to be infringing, Toned Tops will make a good-faith attempt to contact the independent artist who submitted the design to Toned Tops so that the artist may make a counter notification pursuant to Section 512(g)(2) and (3) of the DMCA.
- Instructions for Independent Artists
Any complaining party or authorized agent thereof following the procedures in Section 2 above can require Toned Tops to remove or disable access to copyrighted content. If you are found to repeatedly submit infringing designs, your account will be suspended. Serious offenders will have their account deactivated and will be permanently banned from submitting designs. Toned Tops considers “three strikes” as an indication of being a serious offender. In addition, if you are found deliberately misrepresenting the copyrighted work of another as your own, your account will be immediately deactivated and you will be permanently banned from submitting designs.
If Toned Tops receives your counter-notification, but your design does not comply with the Toned Tops Artist’s Agreement and/or the Toned Tops Terms of Use, Toned Tops may inform you that Toned Tops is not be able to reinstate your work. Toned Tops may also request further information from you in order to determine whether the work can be reinstated.
In many circumstances, Toned Tops will forward your counter-notification (including the contact information) to the complaining party or authorized agent thereof. At that time the complaining party may take legal action against you in Federal District Court.