DMCA Copyright Infringement Notices

Littlink does not directly host any content, infringing or not, but our customers could use it to link to content that infringes copyrights. If someone is using Littlink to link to a page that's infringing on your copyright, we will take it down if we're given proper legal notice.

If you know what you're doing

Use our help system or send an email to brent@littl.ink to file your DMCA notice. To ensure your request is handled promptly, please include "DMCA" in the subject line.

We will normally share your notice with the customers whose links we suspend. If you want us to withhold some of the personal information in your notice, please specify in your notice what exactly you'd like us to redact. You don't need to explain why.

Please note that Littlink is a very small operation; all of our employees may be off work or even on vacation at the same time. If your timing is unlucky, we may take longer than larger companies to comply with your request.

What is the DMCA process?

The DMCA process is designed to help you take down content that infringes a copyright you own. If you file a valid notice, then at the end of the DMCA process, either the content will no longer be available through Littlink, or you will have enough contact information for the user who linked to the content to file a lawsuit against them for infringing your copyright.

The DMCA process only applies to violations of copyright. If you wrote a book, filmed a movie, recorded a song, coded an app, made a picture, or took a photo and someone is stealing it, they may be infringing your copyright. DMCA notices are not valid if they're filed because someone posted something false, mean, offensive, or upsetting. Nor are they valid if they're filed for other violations of the law, such as trademark infringements or defamation. That doesn't mean we'll ignore notices of other unlawful behavior besides copyright violations—it just means that our response may not follow this strict procedure.

We have every incentive to comply with valid DMCA notices, because if we don't, a court could hold us responsible for the offending link. Our policy is to work with people who seem to be filing notices in good faith but aren't meeting the legal requirements, so don't worry that we're going to ignore your notice because you didn't dot every I or cross every T.

Usually you won't need a lawyer to file a DMCA notice, but if you're not sure, you might want to talk to one.

How does it work?

The DMCA process begins when you file a notice with us. If the notice is valid, we will suspend the offending link and notify the user who posted it. If the user disagrees and believes they are not infringing your copyright, they may file a counter-notice with us. To be valid, that counter-notice must include the user's real-world contact information. We will then forward the counter-notice to you. If you do not file a lawsuit within ten days, we may end the suspension of the offending link.

Though the above paragraph says "link" and "user" in the singular, you may file a notice covering multiple links created by multiple users. We'll sort it out.

To prevent abuse of this process, your notice must include real-world contact information, such as a phone number or mailing address. This is a legal requirement, not merely a Littlink policy. If you're uncomfortable giving us your contact information, you may authorize someone else—such as a friend, employee, or lawyer—to file the notice on your behalf and include their contact information instead. We also honor notices which include PO boxes as contact information.

What should be in the notice?

The notice should basically be a letter. It should include:

If any of the statements listed above aren't correct, you should not file the notice.

Once you've written the notice, you officially know what you're doing, so skip back up to the "If You Know What You're Doing" section at the top of the page to find out how to file it.

For our customers

Many services skip the DMCA counter-notice procedure or count disputed infringement claims against their users. Littlink's policy, however, is to notify you of all alleged infringements, honor counter-notices unless we believe they're baseless, and in general treat our customers as innocent until proven guilty.

However, the Terms of Service classify using Littlink to commit tortious acts (like copyright infringement) as a misuse of the Littlink service. If we believe you are using Littlink to infringe copyrights, we may suspend the relevant links, close your Littlink account, or take other actions against you.

We have a policy of closing the accounts of repeat infringers, so if you're hoping to use Littlink to pirate content, you'd best look elsewhere.