Strikes & Abuse

FlareNetwork has a repeat infringer policy, as the DMCA requires. An account with 3 active copyright strikes is terminated.

How You Get a Strike

When a complete copyright notice takes one of your videos down, your account gets one strike. You are told in the same message that tells you about the takedown.

• Several notices about the same video count as one strike.
• Several of your videos named in one notice count as one strike.

How a Strike Goes Away

• The video is restored. If your counter-notice succeeds or the rights holder withdraws the notice, the strike is removed.
• It expires. A strike expires 6 months after it was issued.

A strike does not count while your counter-notice is pending.

What Happens at 3 Strikes

• Uploads are blocked on your account immediately.
• Our team confirms the termination within 2 business days. That check looks only for processing errors on our side. It does not reconsider the notices.
• When the account is terminated, all of its videos become unavailable.

You can still sign in to read the notices and file counter-notices. If a counter-notice or a withdrawal brings the account back under 3 active strikes, we review reinstating it.

Sending a false DMCA notice is a serious legal matter, not just a breach of our rules. Under 17 U.S.C. § 512(f), anyone who knowingly misrepresents that material is infringing, or that it was taken down by mistake, may be liable for damages. That includes the costs and attorney's fees of the person who was harmed.

This applies to both sides. A notice includes a statement made under penalty of perjury, and so does a counter-notice.

A takedown is a powerful tool, and we watch for people who misuse it. We keep a record for everyone who sends notices, and look at one signal above all: notices that were answered with a counter-notice and never followed by a court action.

When that pattern repeats, or a filer otherwise misuses the process:

• A person on our team reviews every notice from that filer before anything happens
• Serious or repeated abuse may lead to account suspension or termination

We are open about one limit. The law requires us to act on any complete notice that reaches our designated agent, whoever sends it. We cannot refuse a complete notice because we doubt it. The protection against a false notice is your counter-notice, and the liability the sender takes on under § 512(f).

If you believe someone is abusing the notice process, for example by sending false notices or using notices to harass you, tell us through our support system. Please include:

• A link to the claim or claims involved
• Why you believe the behavior is abusive
• Any evidence you have

Reports are handled confidentially and feed the record described above. A report does not put a video back by itself. To get a video restored, file a counter-notice.