DMCA Notice-and-Takedown Policy

1. Overview

Romantic Lines LP ("HMU", "we", "us", "our") operates the Hot Muses service at hmu.com (the "Service"). We respect the intellectual property rights of third parties and expect our users to do the same. As a condition of using the Service, users must not upload, transmit, post, prompt the generation of, or otherwise make available any material that infringes the copyright, trademark, or other intellectual property rights of any person or entity.

This policy describes how we respond to notices of alleged copyright infringement under the United States Digital Millennium Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 512 (the "DMCA"), and how affected users may submit counter-notices. We also describe parallel procedures for users and rightsholders in the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Brazil.

This policy is part of, and incorporated by reference into, our Terms of Service. Capitalised terms not defined here have the meanings given in the Terms.

2. Designated DMCA Agent

To submit a notice of alleged copyright infringement on the Service under the DMCA, please contact our Designated Agent:

Operator note (internal): the Designated Agent must be registered with the United States Copyright Office at https://www.copyright.gov/dmca-directory/ (filing fee approximately USD 6, renewal every three years). Without registration on file with the Copyright Office at the time a notice is received, the safe-harbour provisions of 17 U.S.C. § 512(c) are unavailable to HMU. This is non-negotiable: complete registration before publishing this policy.

3. Notice Requirements (17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(3))

To be effective under the DMCA, a notice of alleged infringement must be a written communication provided to the Designated Agent that includes substantially all of the following six elements:

1. A physical or electronic signature of a person authorised to act on behalf of the owner of the exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.
2. Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, if multiple works at the Service are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works.
3. Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity, and information reasonably sufficient to permit us to locate the material — for example, the full URL of the page on hmu.com where the material appears, and where relevant the time-stamp or message identifier of the specific item.
4. Information reasonably sufficient to permit us to contact the complaining party, such as an address, telephone number, and an email address at which the complaining party may be contacted.
5. A statement that the complaining party has a good-faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorised by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.
6. A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorised to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

Notices that do not substantially comply with these requirements may not be actionable; we may, but are not required to, attempt to contact the complainant to cure deficiencies before acting.

4. Submitting a Notice

The preferred channel is email to [email protected] with the subject line "DMCA Notice — hmu.com". Where the complainant prefers physical delivery, notices may be sent to the postal address in Section 2.

Upon receipt of a substantially compliant notice we will, in our usual course:

• log the notice in our internal abuse register;
• assess whether the identified material is hosted by us (as opposed to a third-party site linked from the Service);
• expeditiously remove or disable access to the identified material;
• take reasonable steps to notify the user who posted, generated, or otherwise made the material available; and
• in suitable cases, forward the notice to the affected user so they may exercise their counter-notice rights under Section 5.

False notices. Under 17 U.S.C. § 512(f), any person who knowingly materially misrepresents that material or activity is infringing may be liable for damages, including costs and attorneys' fees incurred by the alleged infringer, by any copyright owner or copyright owner's authorised licensee, and by us. Filing a DMCA notice is a sworn legal statement. Do not use this process for non-copyright disputes (use the channels in Sections 7 and 8 below for those).

5. Counter-Notice Procedure (17 U.S.C. § 512(g))

If you are a user of the Service and material you posted or generated has been removed or disabled in response to a DMCA notice, you may submit a counter-notice. To be effective, a counter-notice must be a written communication to the Designated Agent that includes substantially all of the following:

1. Your physical or electronic signature.
2. Identification of the material that has been removed or to which access has been disabled, and the location at which the material appeared before it was removed or disabled.
3. A statement under penalty of perjury that you have a good-faith belief that the material was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification.
4. Your name, address, and telephone number; and a statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of the Federal District Court for the judicial district in which your address is located (or, if your address is outside the United States, the judicial district in which Romantic Lines LP is located or otherwise has its agent for service of process), and that you will accept service of process from the person who provided the original notice or an agent of that person.

Send counter-notices to [email protected] with the subject line "DMCA Counter-Notice — hmu.com".

Upon receipt of a compliant counter-notice we will:

• promptly forward a copy to the original complainant;
• inform the complainant that we will replace the removed material or cease disabling access to it in not less than 10 and not more than 14 business days following receipt of the counter-notice; and
• replace or restore access at the end of that window unless the complainant first notifies us that they have filed an action seeking a court order to restrain the user from engaging in infringing activity relating to the material on the Service.

Filing a counter-notice is also a sworn legal statement; § 512(f) liability applies equally.

6. Repeat-Infringer Policy

It is HMU's policy, in appropriate circumstances and in our sole discretion, to disable and/or terminate the accounts of users who are repeat infringers. We maintain an internal "strikes" record keyed to the user account (and, where appropriate, payment instrument or device fingerprint). The thresholds we currently apply are:

A strike is recorded when (a) a substantially compliant DMCA notice results in removal and (b) the user does not successfully counter-notice. Counter-notices that are not contested by court action within the § 512(g) window cancel the underlying strike. Termination decisions are reviewed by [COMPLIANCE LEAD] before they take effect.

7. Non-DMCA Jurisdictions

7.1 European Union — Digital Services Act

Users and rightsholders in the European Union may submit notices of "manifestly illegal content" to us under Article 16 of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 (the "Digital Services Act" or "DSA"). DSA notices should be sent to [email protected] and should include:

• a sufficiently substantiated explanation of the reasons why the individual or entity considers the information in question to be illegal content;
• a clear indication of the exact electronic location of that information (URL, message identifier);
• the name and email address of the individual or entity submitting the notice, except in the case of information considered to involve criminal offences referred to in Articles 3–7 of Directive 2011/93/EU; and
• a statement confirming the good-faith belief of the individual or entity submitting the notice that the information and allegations contained therein are accurate and complete.

We will acknowledge receipt without undue delay, act diligently on substantiated notices, and inform both the notifier and the affected user of our decision and the available redress avenues (internal complaint-handling and out-of-court dispute settlement under DSA Article 21).

7.2 United Kingdom

UK rightsholders may use the DMCA process above as a courtesy channel, or proceed under the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and the Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002. We action substantially compliant notices on the same basis as DMCA notices.

7.3 Australia

Notices relating to material accessible in Australia may be sent to [email protected] and will be assessed under the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth), the Online Safety Act 2021, and our Acceptable Use Policy. The eSafety Commissioner's Basic Online Safety Expectations are reflected in our internal review process.

7.4 Brazil

Brazilian rightsholders may rely on Law No. 12,965/2014 (Marco Civil da Internet) and Law No. 9,610/1998 (Lei de Direitos Autorais). Per Marco Civil Article 19, removal of allegedly infringing content generally requires a specific court order; we will, however, action notices voluntarily where the infringement is manifest, consistent with our DMCA practice above.

8. Trademark and Other Intellectual-Property Complaints

This policy is specific to copyright. Trademark complaints, right-of-publicity complaints, and allegations that material on the Service depicts a real, identifiable person without consent should be sent separately to [email protected] with the subject line "Trademark / IP Complaint" or "Right of Publicity Complaint" as applicable. See also our AI Content Statement Section 4 regarding allegations that AI-generated material resembles a real person.

Trademark complaints should include:

• the registered or common-law mark relied upon, registration number where applicable, and jurisdiction of registration;
• the goods or services covered by the registration;
• the location of the allegedly infringing use on the Service;
• the basis for the complainant's belief that the use is infringing (e.g., likelihood of confusion, dilution);
• contact information; and
• a good-faith and accuracy statement equivalent to those required in Section 3.

9. Confidentiality and Privacy

Notices, counter-notices, and their attachments may be forwarded between the parties as required by § 512(g) and may be shared with regulators or law-enforcement on lawful request. We may publish redacted notices to the Lumen Database (lumendatabase.org) at our discretion to support transparency in copyright enforcement. Personal data is handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

10. Updates to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. Material updates are notified via the Service footer and, for active subscribers, by email at least 30 days in advance. The current version, version number, and effective date appear at the top of this document.