Copyright Policy

1. Overview

Noiz respects intellectual property rights and expects users to do the same. Noiz is operated from Germany, so copyright complaints are handled under German and European Union law: the German Copyright Act (UrhG) and the notice-and-action rules of the Digital Services Act. This policy describes how to send a notice, how a creator can respond, and how we address repeat infringement. Rightsholders used to the United States format can send a notice in that form as well: see section 8.

2. Copyright Ownership

All content, features, and functionality of Noiz, including but not limited to text, graphics, logos, icons, images, audio clips, video clips, data compilations, software, and the compilation thereof, are the exclusive property of Noiz or its content suppliers and are protected by international copyright laws.

3. User Content Rights

When you upload content to Noiz, you retain all ownership rights to your content. The license you grant us is the one in section 7 of the Terms of Service, and only that one: to host, store, reproduce, technically adapt (resizing an image, for example) and publicly display your content so that your page works. It ends when you delete the content or close your account, except for the copies the Terms say we may keep.

4. Permitted Use

You may:

• Access and use the Service for your own purposes, personal or commercial, within the Terms of Service
• Share links to your own Noiz profile
• Download or print content for personal reference

5. Prohibited Use

You may not:

• Reproduce, distribute, or publicly display our copyrighted materials
• Modify, adapt, or create derivative works from our content
• Use our trademarks or logos without written permission
• Remove or alter any copyright or trademark notices
• Use automated systems to copy or scrape content
• Reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble our software

6. Copyright Notices

If you believe content on Noiz infringes your copyright, send us a notice. We review it and, where the content is infringing, remove it or disable access to it without undue delay, tell the creator what we did and why, and tell you what we decided. This is the notice-and-action procedure of the Digital Services Act, applied to the German Copyright Act (UrhG).

We accept notices by email. A notice that leaves out the points below may take longer, because we will have to ask.

6.1 What a Notice Should Contain

• The work you say is infringed, identified clearly: a link to the original, or a description. If several works are involved, a representative list.
• The exact URL(s) on Noiz of the material, and where on the page it is, so that we can find it.
• Why the use is unlawful: that you own the rights or act for the owner, and that the use is neither licensed nor covered by an exception.
• Your name and an email address where we can reach you.
• A statement that you believe in good faith that the information in the notice is accurate and complete.

No signature and no sworn statement is required under this process.

6.2 Transparency

We confirm receipt. We may forward the notice, including your name and contact details, to the creator whose content it concerns, because they are entitled to know the claim against them and to answer it, and we may share redacted versions where the law requires it.

Upon receiving a valid notice, we generally disable or remove the reported material and notify the user. We may also suspend related functionality while a claim is reviewed.

6.3 Copyright Contact

7. Responding to a Removal

If your content was removed or restricted after a copyright notice and you believe that was a mistake, reply to the message we sent you, or write to legal@noiz.bio, with:

• The material that was removed and the address (URL) where it appeared.
• Why the use is lawful: it is your own work, you hold a license, or an exception applies, such as quotation, or caricature, parody and pastiche (sections 51 and 51a UrhG).
• Your name and an email address where we can reach you.

We review your reply, tell the person who sent the notice, and restore the material if we conclude that it is lawful or that the notice was mistaken. No consent to any court’s jurisdiction is asked of you. A dispute the two sides cannot settle is for the courts, and nothing in this policy limits anyone’s right to go to one.

8. Notices in the United States (DMCA) Format

We handle every copyright notice under the process above, whoever sends it. If you are a rightsholder in the United States and prefer the format of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, you can send a notice with the elements listed in 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(3): the work, the exact URL, your contact details, a statement of good-faith belief that the use is not authorized by the owner, its agent or the law, a statement that the notice is accurate and, under penalty of perjury, that you are authorized to act for the owner, and your physical or electronic signature. We treat it the same way as any other notice.

A creator who wants to answer such a notice in the DMCA’s own form can send a counter-notification with the elements of 17 U.S.C. § 512(g)(3): identification of the removed material and where it appeared; a statement, under penalty of perjury, of a good-faith belief that it was removed or disabled by mistake or misidentification; their name, address and telephone number; a statement that they consent to the jurisdiction of the Federal District Court for the judicial district in which their address is located or, if their address is outside the United States, for any judicial district in which the service provider may be found, and that they will accept service of process from the person who sent the notice; and their physical or electronic signature. Where a counter-notification in that form is valid, we forward it to the person who sent the notice and restore the material not less than 10 and not more than 14 business days later, unless that person tells us they have filed a court action.

Noiz is established in Germany and its obligations arise under German and European Union law. Noiz has not designated an agent with the United States Copyright Office and does not claim the safe harbor of 17 U.S.C. § 512. This section is a courtesy to rightsholders in the United States; it is not a statement that Noiz is subject to United States jurisdiction.

9. Restoration, Escalation & Preservation

We restore material when a reply under section 7 shows that it is lawful, or as section 8 describes, unless the person who sent the notice tells us they have started court proceedings.

We may retain removed material temporarily to:

• Comply with legal obligations
• Preserve evidence for potential legal proceedings
• Process and resolve the dispute

We may also limit account functionality while a dispute is pending. In cases involving potential criminal activity, we may report the matter to appropriate law enforcement authorities.

10. Repeat Infringers

Noiz maintains a policy of terminating, in appropriate circumstances, the accounts of users who are repeat infringers of intellectual property rights.

When determining appropriate action, we consider factors such as:

• The number and validity of notices received
• Failure to respond to notices or comply with requirements
• Prior enforcement history
• The nature and severity of the alleged infringement

We may also remove linked content, disable features, or apply other measures to deter abuse. We reserve the right to terminate accounts at our sole discretion for any copyright violation.

11. Abuse of Process

We may reject notices or counter-notices that are:

• Incomplete or fail to meet legal requirements
• Abusive, harassing, or threatening in nature
• Automated or mass-generated without proper review
• Deceptive or containing false information
• Intended to suppress lawful speech or legitimate content

We reserve the right to limit or block submissions from senders who repeatedly file defective or bad-faith claims. Sending a knowingly false notice or reply can make you liable for the damage it causes, under German law and, where it applies, under 17 U.S.C. § 512(f).

12. Reporting Other Intellectual Property Violations

If you believe your trademark or other intellectual property rights have been violated, please contact us at legal@noiz.bio with detailed information about the alleged violation.

13. Copyright Exceptions

Nothing in this policy limits the exceptions the law gives you: quotation, caricature, parody and pastiche and the other exceptions of German and European Union copyright law, or fair use where United States law applies. Some uses of protected material are lawful without a license, and a notice does not change that.

14. Data Protection in the Notice Process

When you send a copyright notice or a reply to one, we process the personal data in it in order to handle the claim. This section explains how:

14.1 Data Collected

• Your name and email address
• Details of the alleged infringement, and what you say about it
• A postal address, telephone number, signature and sworn statements only if you send them, as a notice in the DMCA format does

14.2 Data Retention

Personal data in copyright notices and replies is kept for three years after the matter closes, the general limitation period for civil claims (section 195 BGB), so that we can defend against claims arising from it. After that it is deleted, unless proceedings are still pending.

14.3 Your Rights

You retain all data protection rights as outlined in our Privacy Policy, including the right to access, rectify, and (subject to legal retention requirements) erase your data. Notices are sent by email, so this page stores nothing in your browser. For what noiz.bio does store, see Section 11 of our Privacy Policy.

15. Governing Law

This Copyright Policy shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany, without regard to its conflict of law provisions.

• Any disputes arising from or relating to this policy shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts in Rastatt or Baden-Württemberg, Germany
• Where mandatory under applicable law, EU consumer protection laws shall apply
• This policy does not affect your statutory rights under applicable copyright law

16. Policy Changes

We reserve the right to update or modify this Copyright Policy at any time. Changes will be effective immediately upon posting to our website.

• Material changes will be communicated via email to registered users
• We will indicate the date of the most recent update at the top of this policy
• Continued use of the Service after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy
• We encourage you to review this policy periodically

17. Contact Us

For any questions about this Copyright Policy or to report copyright concerns, please contact us: