Bystander Sports Copyright and DMCA Policy
- bystander sports
- 1 day ago
- 7 min read
Last Updated: August 14, 2026
Bystander Sports ("Bystander Sports," "we," "us," or "our") respects the intellectual-property rights of others and expects users of our Services to do the same.
This Copyright and DMCA Policy explains how Bystander Sports responds to allegations of copyright infringement involving content available through the Bystander Sports website, community features, comments, photographs, videos, files, uploads, and other Services.
This Policy is intended to establish procedures for submitting copyright infringement notices and, where appropriate, counter-notifications.
Nothing in this Policy limits any rights or remedies available under applicable law.
1. Copyright Infringement Is Prohibited
You may not upload, post, reproduce, distribute, transmit, display, perform, or otherwise make available material through Bystander Sports that you do not have the legal right to use.
This includes, without limitation:
Photographs.
Videos.
Articles.
News stories.
Graphics.
Artwork.
Music.
Audio recordings.
Broadcast recordings.
Written material.
Documents.
Software.
Other copyrighted works.
Users are responsible for ensuring that they have the necessary rights, licenses, permissions, or other lawful basis before submitting copyrighted material.
Copyright law may permit certain uses of copyrighted material without permission, including fair use in appropriate circumstances. Bystander Sports does not determine in advance whether every use qualifies as fair use.
2. User-Generated Content and Copyright
Bystander Sports allows eligible community members to submit comments, photographs, videos, graphics, files, links, and other User Content.
By uploading or submitting material, you represent that:
You own the material; or
You have obtained the necessary permission or license to use and submit it; or
Your use is otherwise authorized by law.
You remain responsible for your User Content.
Bystander Sports does not automatically endorse or guarantee the legality of User Content submitted by community members.
3. Reporting Copyright Infringement
If you believe that content available through Bystander Sports infringes your copyright, you may submit a copyright infringement notice.
A copyright notice should contain enough information for Bystander Sports to identify the copyrighted work and the allegedly infringing material.
For a notice intended to comply with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA"), please provide the following information:
A. Identification of the Copyrighted Work
Identify the copyrighted work that you believe has been infringed.
If multiple copyrighted works are involved, you may provide a representative list of those works.
B. Identification of the Allegedly Infringing Material
Identify the material that you believe infringes your copyright and provide sufficient information for Bystander Sports to locate it.
Whenever possible, provide the specific page URL, post URL, profile URL, or other location where the material appears.
C. Your Contact Information
Provide information that allows Bystander Sports to contact you, such as:
Full legal name.
Mailing address.
Telephone number.
Email address.
D. Good-Faith Statement
Your notice should include a statement substantially providing:
"I have a good-faith belief that the use of the copyrighted material described above is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law."
E. Accuracy and Authority Statement
Your notice should include a statement substantially providing:
"I declare under penalty of perjury that the information in this notification is accurate and that I am the copyright owner or am authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner."
F. Signature
The notice should include the physical or electronic signature of the copyright owner or a person authorized to act on the copyright owner's behalf.
4. Where to Send Copyright Notices
Copyright infringement notices may initially be submitted to:
Subject line: DMCA Copyright Infringement Notice
Bystander Sports may establish a separate designated DMCA agent and provide additional contact information as the Services develop.
If Bystander Sports registers a designated DMCA agent with the U.S. Copyright Office, the registered agent information should be used for formal DMCA notices.
5. What Happens After We Receive a Notice
When Bystander Sports receives a copyright complaint, we may:
Review the complaint for completeness.
Attempt to identify the allegedly infringing material.
Remove or restrict access to material when appropriate.
Notify the affected user when appropriate.
Request additional information.
Take other action permitted or required by applicable law.
Submitting a complaint does not automatically guarantee that content will be removed.
Bystander Sports may consider whether the complaint appears to satisfy applicable legal requirements and whether other legal protections may apply.
6. Counter-Notifications
If you believe that material was removed or disabled because of a mistake or misidentification, you may be entitled to submit a DMCA counter-notification.
A counter-notification should generally include:
Identification of the material that was removed or disabled and the location where it appeared before removal.
A statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of the appropriate federal district court and will accept service of process from the person who submitted the copyright complaint or that person's agent, as applicable.
A statement under penalty of perjury that you have a good-faith belief that the material was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification.
Your name, address, telephone number, and email address.
Your physical or electronic signature.
Counter-notifications may initially be submitted to:
Subject line: DMCA Counter-Notification
Bystander Sports may forward a valid counter-notification to the person who submitted the original copyright complaint.
Where required by applicable law, Bystander Sports may restore the removed material after the applicable statutory process has been completed unless the copyright owner takes appropriate legal action.
7. Misrepresentations and Abusive Copyright Complaints
Copyright complaints should be submitted only by copyright owners or authorized representatives with a good-faith basis for believing that infringement has occurred.
Knowingly submitting materially false or misleading information in a copyright complaint or counter-notification may have legal consequences.
Do not use the copyright-reporting process to:
Harass another person.
Suppress lawful criticism.
Remove unfavorable opinions.
Remove lawful commentary.
Disrupt a competitor.
Circumvent other moderation procedures.
Abuse Bystander Sports' reporting systems.
Bystander Sports may take appropriate action against users who repeatedly abuse copyright-reporting procedures.
8. Fair Use and Other Legal Rights
Copyright law may permit certain uses of copyrighted material without permission.
Depending on the circumstances, such uses may include criticism, commentary, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, research, parody, or other uses protected by law.
The existence of copyrighted material on Bystander Sports does not by itself establish infringement.
Bystander Sports may consider applicable legal protections when reviewing a copyright complaint.
Users remain responsible for determining whether their use of copyrighted material is lawful.
9. Repeat Infringers
Bystander Sports may, in appropriate circumstances and at its discretion, restrict or terminate accounts belonging to users who repeatedly infringe copyrights or are repeatedly the subject of valid copyright complaints.
Repeated infringement may result in:
Removal of content.
Suspension of uploading privileges.
Account suspension.
Account termination.
Other appropriate enforcement action.
Bystander Sports may consider the circumstances of individual cases when determining appropriate action.
10. Bystander Sports Intellectual Property
Bystander Sports owns or licenses the intellectual property used in connection with its Services, except for User Content and third-party material.
This may include:
Bystander Sports branding.
Logos.
Original articles.
Original graphics.
Original photographs.
Original videos.
Website design.
Software.
Original editorial material.
Other proprietary content.
You may not reproduce, distribute, modify, publicly display, commercially exploit, or create derivative works from Bystander Sports' proprietary material without authorization, except where permitted by applicable law.
11. Sports Photographs, Videos, Broadcasts, and Highlights
Sports-related content can involve complicated copyright and licensing rights.
The fact that a photograph, video, broadcast, highlight, screenshot, statistic, social-media post, or other sports-related material is publicly available does not necessarily mean that it may legally be copied and uploaded to Bystander Sports.
Users should not assume that material found on:
X.
Facebook.
Instagram.
YouTube.
TikTok.
Other social media sites.
Television broadcasts.
Sports league websites.
Team websites.
News websites.
Other websites.
is free to copy or upload.
Users are responsible for obtaining appropriate rights or determining whether a lawful exception applies before uploading such material.
12. Embedded Third-Party Content
Bystander Sports may use third-party embedding functionality where permitted by the applicable platform.
For example, Bystander Sports may embed publicly available videos or social-media posts from platforms such as YouTube, X, Facebook, or Instagram.
An embedded third-party item may remain hosted by the applicable third-party platform rather than by Bystander Sports.
If you believe embedded content infringes your copyright, you may also wish to contact the platform that hosts the original material.
Bystander Sports may remove or disable an embed when appropriate.
13. Links to Third-Party Material
Users may be permitted to post links to external websites.
A link to copyrighted material does not necessarily constitute infringement by Bystander Sports.
However, Bystander Sports may remove links that facilitate unlawful activity, violate our Terms of Service, or create legal or security concerns.
14. Social-Media Sharing
Bystander Sports may provide social-sharing buttons, links, or other functionality that allows users to share Bystander Sports content through third-party platforms.
Sharing functionality does not transfer ownership of Bystander Sports' copyrighted material to users.
Third-party platforms are governed by their own terms and policies.
Users are responsible for complying with applicable copyright law and third-party platform rules when sharing content.
15. Copyright Complaints Concerning Bystander Sports' Own Content
If you believe that Bystander Sports-owned content has been copied or used without authorization, you may contact us at:
Subject line: Bystander Sports Copyright Concern
Please identify:
The Bystander Sports content involved.
Where you found the allegedly unauthorized copy.
The nature of the suspected infringement.
Your contact information.
Any information that may help us investigate.
16. Relationship to the Terms of Service
This Copyright and DMCA Policy supplements the Bystander Sports Terms of Service and Community Guidelines.
If a provision of this Policy conflicts with a mandatory requirement of applicable copyright law, the applicable law will control.
Users are responsible for complying with both this Policy and the Terms of Service.
17. Changes to This Policy
Bystander Sports may update this Copyright and DMCA Policy from time to time.
When we make changes, we may update the "Last Updated" date and publish the revised Policy through the Services.
18. Contact
Copyright-related notices and questions may initially be submitted to:
Bystander Sports
Email: admin@bystandersports.com
Subject: DMCA Copyright Infringement Notice
Bystander Sports may establish additional contact information or procedures as the Services develop.
Important: This Policy is intended to describe Bystander Sports' copyright procedures. It does not guarantee that Bystander Sports qualifies for any particular statutory safe harbor or that any particular use of copyrighted material is lawful.
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