copyright & takedown policy

fanfiction.lol is operated from Canada and is primarily subject to Canadian copyright law. this page explains how copyright concerns are handled — including both Canada's notice-and-notice regime and the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) for international rights holders.

transformative works and fan creativity

fanfiction.lol takes seriously both the rights of copyright holders and the long tradition of transformative fan creativity. Canadian copyright law provides for fair dealing (Copyright Act, ss.29–29.2) for purposes including parody, satire, criticism, review, and research. transformative works — fiction, art, and commentary inspired by or based on existing properties — are generally consistent with fair dealing and the long history of fan culture.

complaints about the mere existence of fanworks that mention trademarks or are based on copyrighted source material will not be acted upon. complaints about verbatim reproduction of substantial portions of copyrighted text are taken seriously and will be reviewed.

Canadian copyright: notice and notice

under Canada's Copyright Act (ss.41.25–41.27), website operators are subject to a "notice-and-notice" regime. if a rights holder sends a valid notice identifying a specific user's content as infringing, the operator is required to forward that notice to the user associated with the content. this is Canada's primary copyright enforcement mechanism for online platforms — it differs from the US DMCA safe harbour in that immediate takedown is not automatically required.

upon receiving a valid notice-and-notice complaint, fanfiction.lol will:

  • — forward the notice to the relevant user
  • — review the content in the context of Canadian fair dealing principles
  • — take appropriate action, which may include removal if the content is clearly infringing and not protected by fair dealing

DMCA takedown requests

although fanfiction.lol is not a US service, we will review DMCA-formatted takedown notices from international rights holders. to submit a request, send a notice to [email protected] containing:

  • — identification of the copyrighted work claimed to be infringed
  • — identification of the allegedly infringing material and its URL on this site
  • — your contact information (name, address, phone number, email)
  • — a statement that you have a good-faith belief the use is not authorised by the copyright owner, its agent, or applicable law
  • — a statement, under penalty of perjury, that the information is accurate and you are authorised to act on behalf of the copyright owner
  • — your physical or electronic signature

valid, complete notices will be reviewed and responded to promptly. we evaluate all complaints in the context of Canadian fair dealing before acting. incomplete or abusive notices may not be acted upon.

Filing a DMCA counternotice

if your content was removed in response to a takedown notice and you believe this was in error — for example, because the use constitutes fair dealing under Canadian law or fair use under US law — you may file a counternotice. contact [email protected] with:

  • — identification of the removed content and the URL where it appeared
  • — a statement, under penalty of perjury, that you have a good-faith belief the content was removed in error
  • — your name, address, and phone number
  • — your consent to the jurisdiction of applicable courts
  • — your signature

repeat infringers

accounts that repeatedly post content found to infringe third-party copyright — in response to valid takedown or notice-and-notice complaints — may be suspended or permanently terminated at the operator's discretion.