HiWAAY: Internet Services

Digital Millennium Copyright Act

HiWAAY is committed to complying with U.S. copyright law and expects all end users who access some of our Services but do not have accounts ("Visitors") as well as those who pay a monthly service fee to subscribe to the Services ("Members") to do the same. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 ("DMCA") provides recourse for owners of copyrighted material who believe that their rights under U.S. copyright law have been infringed on the Internet. Under the DMCA, copyright owners may contact the authorized agent of an Internet Service Provider to report alleged infringements of their protected works appearing on web pages hosted by the service provider. Upon receipt of a properly filed complaint satisfying the requirements of the DMCA, HiWAAY will remove or block access to the allegedly infringing material. If a Member or user of the HiWAAY Service believes in good faith that a notice of copyright infringement has been wrongly filed, such person may submit a counternotice to HiWAAY. HiWAAY will not be a party to disputes over alleged copyright infringement.

Notification of Claimed Copyright Infringement

If you believe that a web page hosted by HiWAAY is violating your rights under U.S. copyright law, you may file a complaint of such claimed infringement with HiWAAY's designated agent in the manner described below.

By Mail:
HiWAAY Internet Services, Inc.
2227 Drake Ave SW, Suite 28
Huntsville, Alabama 35805
By telephone: (256) 650-4900
By email: abuse@hiwaay.net

For your complaint to be valid under the DMCA, you must provide the following information when providing notice of the claimed copyright infringement:

  1. A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner.
  2. Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed.
  3. Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of the infringing activity and that is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled as well as information reasonably sufficient to permit HiWAAY to locate the material.
  4. Information reasonably sufficient to permit the service provider to contact the complaining party, such as an address, telephone number, and, if available, an electronic mail address.
  5. A statement that the complaining party has a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or law.
  6. A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

For more details on the information required for valid notification, see 17 U.S.C. 512(c)(3).

You should be aware that, under the DCMA, claimants who make misrepresentations concerning copyright infringement may be liable for damages incurred as a result of the removal or blocking of the material, court costs, and attorneys fees.

Counternotification to Claimed Copyright Infringement

If a notice of copyright infringement has been filed against you, you may file a counternotification with HiWAAY's designated agent at the address listed above. Such counternotification must contain the following information:

  1. A 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 access to it was disabled.
  3. A statement under penalty of perjury that the Member has 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 federal district in which you are located, and that you will accept service of process from the complainant.

If HiWAAY receives a valid counternotification, the DMCA provides that the removed material will be restored, or access re-enabled.

Please be advised that U.S. copyright law provides substantial penalties for a false counternotice filed in response to a notice of copyright infringement.

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