Copyright and DMCA Policy

BananaRat Studio respects the copyright rights of others and expects its users to do the same. If you believe material on this platform infringes a copyright you own or administer, you can send a takedown notice using the process below. We will review valid notices and respond promptly in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 512.

How to file a takedown notice

To be effective under § 512(c)(3), your notice must include all of the following:

  1. Identification of the copyrighted work you claim has been infringed (title, registration number if any, and a URL or description of the original).
  2. Identification of the allegedly infringing material — specifically, the URL(s) or other information reasonably sufficient to let us locate the material on the platform.
  3. Your contact information — name, mailing address, telephone number, and email address.
  4. A good-faith statement that you believe the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.
  5. An accuracy statement, under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on the owner's behalf.
  6. Your physical or electronic signature.

You can copy the template below, fill in the brackets, and email it to us.

To: DMCA Agent, Banana Rat Media
Re: DMCA Takedown Notice

I, [your full name], am the copyright owner (or authorized agent of the owner) of the
following work: [title, description, and URL of the original work].

The following material on bananarat.com infringes that work:
[URL(s) on bananarat.com of the allegedly infringing material]

I have a good-faith belief that the above use is not authorized by the copyright owner,
its agent, or the law. I state under penalty of perjury that the information in this
notice is accurate, and that I am the copyright owner or am authorized to act on its
behalf.

Signed,
[electronic or physical signature]
[name, address, phone, email]
[date]

Where to send it: dmca@bananarat.com

Incomplete notices will not trigger the takedown process. We will reply asking for the missing information.

Counter-notification process

If your content was removed in response to a takedown notice and you believe it was removed by mistake or misidentification, you can submit a counter-notification under § 512(g). It must include:

  1. Identification of the removed material and the location where it appeared before removal.
  2. Your contact information — name, address, telephone, email.
  3. A statement, under penalty of perjury, that you have a good-faith belief the material was removed by mistake or misidentification.
  4. A consent-to-jurisdiction statement: that you consent to the jurisdiction of the federal district court for the district where your address is located (or, if your address is outside the U.S., the judicial district where BananaRat Media may be found), and that you will accept service of process from the original claimant.
  5. Your physical or electronic signature.

Template:

To: DMCA Agent, Banana Rat Media
Re: DMCA Counter-Notification

I, [your full name], submit this counter-notification regarding the following material
that was removed from bananarat.com: [description + URL before removal].

I have a good-faith belief that the material was removed as a result of mistake or
misidentification. I state this under penalty of perjury.

I consent to the jurisdiction of the Federal District Court for the district in which
my address is located (or, if outside the U.S., the district where Banana Rat Media
may be found), and I will accept service of process from the original claimant or its
agent.

Signed,
[electronic or physical signature]
[name, address, phone, email]
[date]

Send counter-notifications to dmca@bananarat.com. Once we receive a valid counter-notice, we will forward it to the original claimant. Unless the claimant files suit within 10–14 business days, we will restore the removed material.

Repeat-infringer policy

Banana Rat Media will terminate, in appropriate circumstances, the accounts of users who are repeat infringers. A user who is the subject of three (3) valid takedown notices within a rolling 12-month period will have their account terminated and their access to the platform revoked. A single notice that is later withdrawn, successfully counter-noticed, or determined to be invalid does not count toward the three. We apply this policy at our reasonable discretion based on the record of notices.

Response time

I'll respond to takedown notices and counter-notifications within 48 hours on weekdays (Monday–Friday, Atlantic time). Notices received Friday evening through Sunday may not be acknowledged until Monday. BananaRat Studio is operated by a solo founder — I will not be faster than that, and I won't pretend otherwise.

For valid notices, the typical path is: acknowledgment within 48 hours, content removed or disabled within 72 hours, the affected user notified at the same time. Counter-notifications follow the statutory 10–14 business day restoration window.

Misrepresentation

Under 17 U.S.C. § 512(f), any person who knowingly materially misrepresents that material is infringing, or that it was removed by mistake, is liable for damages. Please do not send notices or counter-notices in bad faith.

Not legal advice

This page describes the procedure BananaRat Studio uses to handle copyright disputes. It is not legal advice. If you are involved in a copyright dispute that matters to you, consult a lawyer.