Last updated February 22, 2023
This policy sets out the procedure that we adopt for reporting, investigating and removing infringing materials that may be uploaded to our platform https://www.voicy.network/ (our “Platform”).
As an online content-sharing service provider, we do not generally monitor the content uploaded to our Platform and are under no obligation to so under the Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market Directive (EU) 2019/790 (“Directive”).
We may, from time to time, take measures that we believe are reasonable and proportionate to moderate content uploaded to our platform to ensure compliance with our Acceptable Use Policy and/or to assist rightsholders in taking steps to address any issues relating to alleged infringements on our Platform.
Given the nature of the content on our Platform, which comprises user generated materials mainly in the form of memes and gifs (including audio-embedded memes and audio-embedded gifs), we rely upon the notification of rightsholders in order to properly identify alleged infringements to us so that we can undertake our best efforts to take the appropriate steps to address any complaints as expeditiously as possible.
If you believe your intellectual property rights are being infringed on our Platform, the quickest way to report allegedly infringing content is by using our in-Platform reporting functionalities.
If, for whatever reason, you are unable to access or use such in-Platform reporting functionalities, then you can also report allegedly infringing content by contacting us at info@voicy.network, and one of our moderators will review the complaint.
If you are emailing us, please include in the subject of any email “TAKEDOWN NOTICE” so that we can identify and direct the complaint to the appropriate moderators dealing with your request. Each takedown notice will generate a unique ticket and will be dealt with by one of our dedicated moderators.
To deal with any complaint as expeditiously as possible, we require certain information from you to (i) verify that you are the rightsholder in relation to the content complained of; (ii) confirm that you are able to or have the authority to make the complaint, if you are acting on behalf of the rightsholder; (iii) properly identify the scope of the complaint, i.e., exactly what content is being complained about; (iv) to correspond and send updates to you in relation to a complaint.
The information we require is as follows:
If you fail to provide the relevant and necessary information required to sufficiently substantiate a complaint as set out above, then you acknowledge and agree that it may take us longer to process your notice until you provide such information.
You also understand and agree that without such information outlined above, we cannot undertake our best efforts to avoid the availability of any unauthorised content on our Platform. As such, we do not accept any liability for unauthorised acts of communication to the public or making available to the public such unidentified works or other subject matter.
The steps that we take in cooperation with rightsholders are without prejudice to the application of exceptions or limitations to copyright, including, in particular, those which guarantee the freedom of expression of our users.
We aim to build a community that is free to create content within the permitted confines of applicable laws. To that end, we respect the rights of rightsholders and our users alike.
Our users have the right to be allowed to upload and make available content generated by them under specific exceptions/ limitations, including but not limited to the specific purposes of quotation, criticism, review, caricature, parody or pastiche. Equally, rightsholders have the right to enforce their rights against content that does not fall within any permitted exceptions/ limitations to the applicable law.
Whilst we make no assessments in terms of merit and/or legality of any uses of content uploaded on our Platform, we aim to strike a balance between the freedom of expression and the freedom of the arts, and the right to property, including intellectual property, in furtherance of the spirit of the Directive. To do this, we adopt the following procedure with respect to any complaint:
In order to facilitate the above process, each the user and rightsholder acknowledge and agree and hereby provide consent, by virtue of engaging in the above process, that their contact details may be shared by Voicy so that respective parties can resolve the issues directly between them.
Please take care not to issue unsubstantiated takedown notices or counternotices, particularly if you are not sure whether you are the actual rights holder or authorized to act on a rights holder’s behalf. There are legal and financial consequences for fraudulent and/or bad faith submissions. Please be sure that you are the actual rights holder, or that you have a good faith belief that the material was removed in error, and that you understand the repercussions of submitting a false claim.
Voicy also reserves its rights in relation to users and/or rightsholder which it believes are, directly or indirectly, committing any acts intended to interfere with the Platform or the intent of this takedown policy by abusing the process contained in these terms by engaging, or encourage others to engage, in any unlawful, unfair, misleading, fraudulent, improper, or dishonest acts.
If you have any questions concerning this takedown policy, please contact us at info@voicy.network. Please note, we are not able to offer any legal advice. If you have any questions of a legal nature, please consult a qualified legal professional.
Voicy B.V.
Aert van Nesstraat 45
Zuid-Holland, Rotterdam 3012CA
Netherlands