How copyright complaints are handled and what a notice must contain.
This page sets out how copyright complaints about material on this site are handled, and what a notice needs to contain to be acted on quickly.
This site publishes descriptive pages about software releases and points at mirrors operated elsewhere. Pages are written by people here, so a complaint about page text is something we can act on directly. Material held on a mirror is a matter for that mirror's operator, though a valid notice will still result in the listing being pulled from this index.
Notices are handled by a different person from the general contact queue and are worked on the day they arrive wherever possible. Send yours through the contact page with the subject set to something else and the words takedown notice at the start of the message, and it will be routed correctly.
A complete notice results in the listing being removed from the index, usually within a day of it arriving. The entry is recorded in an internal log with the notice so the same listing does not reappear later through the requests queue. If the notice is incomplete we will say what is missing rather than ignoring it, but the clock only starts when it is complete.
If you believe a listing was removed in error, send a counter notice through the same route. It needs to identify the removed listing, state under penalty of perjury that you believe in good faith it was removed as a result of mistake or misidentification, and include your contact details and signature. Counter notices are forwarded to the original complainant.
Where a rights holder sends notices covering a whole catalog rather than individual titles, ask for a standing arrangement instead. Several publishers already have one, which means their titles are filtered out of the requests queue before anyone spends time on them.
Notices sent in bad faith, including notices covering material the sender has no rights in, are recorded and not acted on. Sending a false notice carries its own legal consequences, which are not ours to enforce but are worth being aware of.
It is not legal advice, and nothing on it changes your rights or ours. If you need advice on whether to send a notice, that conversation belongs with a lawyer rather than with this queue.