DMCA / Copyright Infringement Policy

1. Purpose and Scope

This Copyright, DMCA, User Content, and Rights Complaints Policy (“Policy”) applies to material appearing on, submitted to, stored through, transmitted through, linked from, embedded in, or otherwise made available through websites, subdomains, blogs, customer portals, hosted services, software platforms, communication tools, and other online services owned, operated, or controlled by TierFive Solutions Group Inc. (“TierFive,” “we,” “us,” or “our”), including tierfive.com and applicable TierFive-hosted services collectively referred to as the “Services.” This Policy is intended to address a broad range of content and rights concerns while preserving the separate statutory procedures applicable to copyright notices and counter-notifications under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 512 (“DMCA”). Nothing in this Policy constitutes an admission that particular material was stored at the direction of a user, that TierFive controls or endorses particular third-party content, that a specific DMCA safe harbor applies, or that any complaint is legally valid. TierFive expressly reserves all rights, defenses, immunities, limitations of liability, and remedies available under applicable law, contract, and equity.

2. Covered Content and Persons

For purposes of this Policy, “User Content” means material submitted, uploaded, stored, transmitted, posted, published, linked, embedded, displayed, shared, or otherwise made available by or at the direction of a customer, subscriber, account holder, user, blog commenter, guest author, contributor, reviewer, applicant, vendor, contractor, integration provider, or other third party.

User Content may include:

Blog comments, replies, discussion posts, and public submissions.
Guest articles, contributed blog posts, interviews, and opinion pieces.
Testimonials, reviews, case-study materials, photographs, and videos.
Customer documents, uploaded files, shared folders, links, and metadata.
Cirrus File Server content and material made available through other TierFive-hosted services.
Account names, profile information, messages, support submissions, and attachments.
Text, images, audio, video, software, source code, datasets, documents, and other digital material.
Hyperlinks, directories, references, previews, embedded media, and external resources.
Material submitted through forms, APIs, integrations, imports, automated transfers, or other technical means.

TierFive may also use this Policy as an intake and review process for complaints concerning material authored, selected, commissioned, or published by TierFive. Doing so does not mean that such material is User Content or that the DMCA safe harbors apply to it.

3. Responsibility for User Content

Each person or entity that submits, uploads, posts, stores, transmits, publishes, links, embeds, or directs TierFive to process User Content is responsible for that User Content and for obtaining and maintaining all rights, licenses, permissions, releases, authorizations, and consents necessary for its possession, submission, storage, transmission, publication, processing, display, distribution, and other authorized use. Under TierFive’s applicable Website Terms of Use, customer agreements, platform terms, contributor terms, or other governing agreements, users and contributors may not submit, direct TierFive to process, or otherwise use content that:

Infringes or misappropriates any copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, right of publicity, privacy right, contractual right, confidentiality obligation, or other legal right.
Contains material the submitter is not authorized to possess, access, disclose, publish, reproduce, store, transmit, distribute, license, or process.
Is unlawful, fraudulent, deceptive, defamatory, threatening, harassing, abusive, obscene, or otherwise prohibited by applicable law or TierFive’s governing terms and policies.
Contains malware, malicious code, phishing content, stolen credentials, harmful technology, or material intended to compromise a person, account, device, system, or network.
Violates a court order, protective order, sealing order, confidentiality obligation, contractual restriction, export restriction, or other legal limitation.
Falsely suggests affiliation, endorsement, authorship, sponsorship, certification, approval, ownership, agency, or authorization.

Publication, storage, transmission, moderation, formatting, indexing, technical processing, or continued availability of User Content does not constitute TierFive’s endorsement, adoption, verification, approval, or acceptance of responsibility for that content. TierFive may refer a complaint concerning licensed stock media, User Content, or other third-party material to the applicable licensor, rights holder, content provider, contributor, customer, account holder, insurer, service provider, or legal counsel. TierFive may remove, replace, disable, restrict, quarantine, preserve, or decline to publish or restore material while a complaint or rights issue is reviewed. Any such action does not constitute an admission of infringement, ownership, liability, wrongdoing, or lack of authorization. Except as expressly authorized by TierFive, the applicable rights holder, or applicable law, no person may copy, download, extract, reproduce, republish, distribute, display, sublicense, sell, commercially exploit, or create derivative works from photographs, illustrations, graphics, video, design elements, or other visual materials appearing through the Services merely because those materials are publicly accessible. A person seeking to use third-party visual material must independently obtain any permission or license required from the applicable rights holder or licensor. TierFive’s right to display or use material does not grant another person the right to reuse it.

4. TierFive’s Rights Concerning Content

Subject to applicable law and any controlling written customer agreement, TierFive may, at any time and with or without prior notice:

Decline to accept, publish, host, index, transmit, or distribute content.
Remove, disable, restrict, suspend, quarantine, de-index, redact, or limit access to content.
Preserve a copy of content and related records while restricting public or account access.
Require additional identification, authorization, documentation, warranties, or supporting information.
Refer a matter to the affected customer, account holder, platform operator, hosting provider, insurer, legal counsel, law-enforcement agency, regulator, or other appropriate party.
Suspend or terminate accounts, access, services, posting privileges, contributor relationships, or other permissions.
Take any other lawful technical, contractual, administrative, or legal action reasonably considered necessary to protect TierFive, its customers, users, personnel, systems, or third parties.

TierFive is not required to establish infringement, unlawful conduct, or liability conclusively before taking protective action. Submission, acceptance, prior publication, or prior availability of content does not obligate TierFive to publish, retain, host, display, transmit, distribute, or restore it. A successful DMCA counter-notification does not require TierFive to restore content that remains restricted for a separate and independently sufficient reason, including violation of another policy or agreement, account termination, security concerns, legal restrictions, loss of authorization, expiration of services, or technical unavailability.

5. Copyright Infringement Notices Under the DMCA

A copyright owner or a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive copyright right may submit a written notification of claimed infringement to TierFive’s Designated Copyright Agent. To be effective under 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(3), a notification must include substantially all of the following:

A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.
Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed or, if multiple copyrighted works at a single online site are covered by one notification, a representative list of those works.
Identification of the material claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity and that is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled, together with information reasonably sufficient to permit TierFive to locate the material.
Information reasonably sufficient to permit TierFive to contact the complaining party, including a mailing address, telephone number, and, if available, an email address.
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, the owner’s agent, or the law.
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.

The notice should identify the exact webpage URL, shared link, account, folder, file name, file identifier, post, comment, or other online location where the material appears, where reasonably available. General descriptions, screenshots without location information, search-result references, or identification of an entire website without identifying the allegedly infringing material may be insufficient to permit TierFive to locate and evaluate the material. A notification should address only copyright infringement. Trademark, privacy, defamation, confidentiality, impersonation, and other complaints should be submitted under Section 12 of this Policy.

6. Designated Copyright Agent

Written DMCA notifications and counter-notifications should be sent to:

Designated Copyright Agent

Before publishing this Policy, TierFive must activate and continuously monitor the listed email address and ensure that the legal name, physical address, telephone number, email address, agent designation, alternate names, websites, and service names shown here match TierFive’s current electronic designation in the U.S. Copyright Office DMCA Designated Agent Directory. Sending a complaint to another TierFive address may delay routing and review. Nothing in this statement limits any obligation that applies after TierFive receives legally sufficient notice through an appropriate channel.

7. TierFive’s Response to a Copyright Notice

Upon receiving a substantially compliant DMCA notification, TierFive may review the notice, request clarification or missing information, identify the relevant material and account, and take action that TierFive determines appropriate under the circumstances. Where required to preserve an applicable limitation of liability, TierFive will act expeditiously to remove or disable access to material claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity. TierFive may take reasonable steps to notify the affected subscriber, account holder, user, commenter, contributor, or other person responsible for the material. TierFive may provide that person with the notice, the complainant’s contact information, or a summary of the claim. A takedown or access restriction is not a determination that infringement occurred, that the complainant owns the asserted rights, or that the affected user is liable. TierFive is not a court and is not required to adjudicate ownership, authorship, licensing, fair use, consent, contract interpretation, or other disputed legal questions. If a notice does not substantially comply with the statutory requirements but sufficiently identifies the copyrighted work, the allegedly infringing material, and the complaining party, TierFive may attempt to contact the sender or take other reasonable steps to assist in receiving a substantially compliant notice.

8. Counter-Notification Procedure

A subscriber or user whose material was removed or disabled in response to a DMCA notification may submit a written counter-notification to TierFive’s Designated Copyright Agent if the subscriber or user has a good-faith belief that the material was removed or disabled because of mistake or misidentification. To be effective under 17 U.S.C. § 512(g)(3), a counter-notification must include substantially all of the following:

The subscriber’s physical or electronic signature.
Identification of the material that was removed or to which access was disabled and the location at which the material appeared before it was removed or disabled.
A statement under penalty of perjury that the subscriber has a good-faith belief that the material was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification of the material.
The subscriber’s name, address, and telephone number.
A statement that the subscriber consents to the jurisdiction of the United States Federal District Court for the judicial district in which the subscriber’s address is located or, if the subscriber’s address is outside the United States, for any judicial district in which TierFive may be found.
A statement that the subscriber will accept service of process from the person who submitted the original notification or an agent of that person.

TierFive may reject or request correction of a counter-notification that is incomplete, materially inconsistent, fraudulent, submitted by a person without authority, or otherwise does not substantially comply with applicable law.

9. Restoration Following a Counter-Notification

Upon receiving a substantially compliant counter-notification, TierFive may promptly provide a copy to the person who submitted the original copyright notification and inform that person that TierFive may replace the removed material or cease disabling access to it after ten business days.

Subject to applicable law, TierFive may replace the removed material or cease disabling access to it not less than ten and not more than fourteen business days after receiving the counter-notification, unless TierFive’s Designated Copyright Agent first receives notice from the original complaining party that the party has filed an action seeking a court order to restrain the subscriber from engaging in infringing activity relating to the material on TierFive’s system or network. TierFive may continue to restrict or decline to restore material for an independent reason unrelated to the disputed copyright allegation, including violation of applicable terms, policies, customer instructions, security requirements, legal restrictions, account status, or service limitations.

10. Repeat Infringers and Serious Violations

TierFive has adopted and reasonably implements a policy providing for termination, in appropriate circumstances, of subscribers and account holders who are repeat infringers. This policy may also be applied, as appropriate, to users, commenters, guest authors, contributors, reviewers, contractors, vendors, integration providers, and other persons who repeatedly submit, post, store, link, transmit, or direct TierFive to process infringing material.

TierFive may consider all relevant circumstances, including:

The number, timing, nature, and apparent validity of infringement notices.
Counter-notifications, retractions, corrections, licensing evidence, and judicial determinations.
Repeated uploading, reposting, relinking, or redistribution of material previously removed or disabled.
Use of multiple accounts, identities, or services to evade restrictions.
Evidence of intentional, commercial, organized, or large-scale infringement.
The user’s response, cooperation, history, and other relevant facts.

TierFive does not use a fixed number of notices as the sole measure of repeat infringement and may disregard notices that are facially invalid, duplicative, withdrawn, successfully countered, fraudulent, or materially unreliable. Separate from the repeat-infringer policy, TierFive may immediately suspend or terminate access for a single serious violation, including deliberate piracy, fraudulent notices, malicious re-uploading, circumvention, malware distribution, unlawful conduct, or conduct creating material security, legal, or operational risk.

11. Misrepresentations, Fraudulent Notices, and Abuse

Under 17 U.S.C. § 512(f), a person who knowingly materially misrepresents that material or activity is infringing, or that material was removed or disabled by mistake or misidentification, may be liable for damages, including costs and attorneys’ fees, incurred by an alleged infringer, copyright owner, authorized licensee, or service provider injured by the misrepresentation. TierFive may reject, restrict, suspend, block, or take other action concerning persons or organizations that submit:

Fraudulent, fabricated, or materially misleading notices or counter-notifications.
Notices concerning rights the sender does not own or have authority to enforce.
Automated, mass-generated, duplicative, or abusive notices lacking adequate review.
Complaints intended primarily to harass, intimidate, suppress lawful speech, gain competitive advantage, obtain confidential information, or disrupt services.
Notices containing malware, deceptive links, false identities, impersonation, or other abusive content.

TierFive may preserve and disclose suspected fraudulent or abusive submissions to affected parties, service providers, insurers, legal counsel, law-enforcement agencies, regulators, or courts as permitted or required by law.

12. Other Rights and Content Complaints

The DMCA process applies to copyright claims. Complaints involving other rights or harmful content may be submitted through TierFive’s Contact page or another communication channel specifically designated by TierFive. Other complaints may include alleged:

Trademark, trade name, trade dress, or unfair competition violations.
Impersonation, false affiliation, false endorsement, or misleading origin.
Privacy, publicity, image, likeness, or personal-information violations.
Defamation, fabricated statements, harassment, threats, or unlawful targeting.
Disclosure of confidential, proprietary, trade-secret, privileged, sealed, or legally restricted information.
Fraud, phishing, malware, stolen credentials, illegal content, or security threats.
Patent, contractual, licensing, ownership, or contributor disputes.
Violation of a court order, protective order, legal restriction, TierFive policy, or customer agreement.

A non-copyright complaint should identify the complaining party, the specific right or rule allegedly violated, the exact location of the material, the factual and legal basis of the claim, proof of ownership or authority where applicable, relevant supporting documents, and the action requested. TierFive may require identity verification, proof of authority, declarations under penalty of perjury, original documents, court orders, customer authorization, or other evidence before acting. TierFive may investigate, decline, refer, restrict, remove, preserve, or otherwise act on a non-copyright complaint in its discretion, subject to applicable law and controlling contracts. TierFive does not undertake a general obligation to resolve private disputes or remove content merely because a complaint has been submitted.

13. Blog Comments, Guest Posts, Reviews, and Contributors

TierFive may permit blog comments, guest articles, contributed posts, testimonials, reviews, case-study submissions, photographs, videos, or other third-party contributions. TierFive may moderate, edit, format, excerpt, decline, remove, archive, or discontinue such material subject to applicable law and any separate written agreement. A commenter, guest author, contributor, reviewer, or submitter represents that they have the legal right and authority to provide the material and that its use as authorized will not violate another person’s rights or applicable law. TierFive may require a separate contributor, testimonial, publicity, release, license, or work-made-for-hire agreement before publishing or continuing to use submitted material. Publication alone does not create employment, agency, partnership, compensation, confidentiality, exclusivity, or continuing publication rights. Opinions expressed by third-party authors, commenters, reviewers, or contributors are their own and do not necessarily represent TierFive’s views.

14. No General Duty to Monitor or Adjudicate

TierFive may use moderation, security, filtering, review, auditing, or monitoring tools, but is not obligated to proactively inspect every file, post, comment, link, message, account, or submission or to affirmatively search for infringement or other violations except as required by applicable law or agreed in writing.

TierFive is not a court, arbitrator, expert witness, or neutral adjudicator and does not undertake to decide disputed questions of ownership, authorship, validity, licensing, fair use, consent, truth, privilege, confidentiality, defamation, trademark priority, contractual rights, or legal liability. TierFive may temporarily restrict material while reviewing a matter, request additional information, rely on facially credible representations, or direct the parties to seek appropriate legal relief.

15. Preservation, Disclosure, and Confidentiality

Notices, counter-notifications, complaints, responses, supporting documents, and related communications are not confidential submissions to TierFive.

TierFive may preserve, use, reproduce, forward, disclose, or provide such materials and associated account or technical information as reasonably necessary to:

Process, investigate, document, or respond to a complaint.
Notify an affected user, customer, account holder, contributor, or rights holder.
Consult legal counsel, insurers, auditors, vendors, hosting providers, or service providers.
Enforce agreements, policies, rights, or remedies.
Comply with subpoenas, court orders, warrants, regulatory demands, preservation duties, or applicable law.
Protect TierFive, its customers, users, personnel, systems, or third parties.
Investigate or report suspected fraud, abuse, security incidents, or unlawful conduct.

TierFive may preserve removed or restricted material, logs, account records, notices, correspondence, and technical evidence without making that material publicly or generally available.

16. Standard Technical Measures

TierFive accommodates and does not interfere with standard technical measures used by copyright owners to identify or protect copyrighted works when those measures satisfy the requirements of 17 U.S.C. § 512(i), including development through a broad consensus process, availability on reasonable and nondiscriminatory terms, and operation without imposing substantial costs or burdens on TierFive’s systems or networks.

17. No Waiver; Reservation of Rights

TierFive’s review, removal, restriction, restoration, preservation, forwarding, or response to any content or complaint does not waive any right, defense, immunity, limitation of liability, contractual protection, objection, or remedy. Failure to act on one complaint or category of content does not require TierFive to act similarly in another matter. Prior moderation, publication, removal, or restoration decisions do not create a binding precedent or continuing obligation.

Nothing in this Policy limits TierFive’s ability to act under its Website Terms of Use, customer agreements, platform terms, privacy policies, security policies, contributor agreements, or applicable law.

18. Changes to This Policy

TierFive may revise this Policy from time to time. The revised version will be posted on this page with an updated “Last Updated” date. Changes apply prospectively from their stated effective date, except where immediate action is reasonably necessary to comply with law, protect security, address abuse, or preserve legal rights.

19. Contact

Copyright notifications and counter-notifications must be directed to the Designated Copyright Agent listed in Section 6. Other rights, content, abuse, or policy complaints may be submitted through TierFive’s Contact page. Legal notices relating to a customer agreement must be delivered through the notice procedure stated in that agreement.