Copyright and
Content Protection Policy
Snapplanets respects the intellectual property rights of others and asks everyone who uses or references our content to do the same. This page explains how we handle copyright claims and what you need to do if you believe your work has been used without permission.
What This Policy Covers and Why It Exists
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act, commonly known as the DMCA, is a United States federal law that provides a framework for addressing copyright infringement on the internet. It creates a process that copyright owners can use to request the removal of infringing content from websites, and it also gives website operators a way to respond to those requests fairly and lawfully.
Snapplanets operates in good faith and takes copyright seriously. All of the original content on this site, including our written guides, tool code, design assets, and the overall presentation of information, is the intellectual property of Snapplanets. At the same time, we understand that mistakes can happen, that content can be reproduced without permission, and that copyright owners have legitimate rights that we are obligated to respect and act on.
This policy explains exactly how to submit a DMCA takedown notice if you believe your copyrighted work appears on this site without your authorization, how we process those notices, what the counter-notification process looks like if content is removed and you believe that removal was in error, and what our policy is toward users who repeatedly infringe on the rights of others.
What Is the DMCA and How Does It Apply Here
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act was signed into United States law in 1998. It was created specifically to address the challenges of protecting copyright in the digital environment, particularly as the internet made it easier than ever to copy and distribute creative works without the permission of the original creator. Among its many provisions, the DMCA includes a section known as the safe harbor provision under Title II, which protects online service providers from liability for copyright infringement committed by their users, provided the service provider responds promptly to valid takedown notices and meets certain other requirements.
Although Snapplanets is primarily a content site rather than a user-generated platform, we still operate under the obligations created by the DMCA because we publish content online and interact with the broader web ecosystem. When a copyright owner believes their work has been reproduced on our site without permission, the DMCA provides the legal mechanism for them to request its removal. When we receive a valid notice, we are required by law to act on it.
The DMCA also provides important protections for content creators and publishers who operate in good faith. It recognizes that not every dispute over content is a case of infringement, and it creates processes for counter-notifications and for resolving disagreements before they escalate to litigation. We try to handle every notice we receive with that same spirit of fairness in mind.
⚖️ For Copyright Owners
If you own a copyright and believe your work appears on this site without your permission, the DMCA gives you a formal legal process to request its removal. We take those requests seriously, investigate each one, and act on valid notices promptly.
🛡️ For Content Creators
If your content is removed from this site in response to a DMCA notice and you believe that removal was a mistake, the counter-notification process gives you a way to dispute the claim and request that the content be restored. We explain that process in full below.
Our Original Content and What We Own
All original content published on Snapplanets is the exclusive intellectual property of Snapplanets and is protected by copyright. This includes every article and written guide on this site, the code behind our interactive tools including the planet finder and rank estimator, all visual design elements such as the layout, color system, typography choices, and component designs, and all other creative work that originates from our team.
You are welcome to reference Snapplanets as a source and to share links to our content across social media, websites, and other platforms. What is not permitted is reproducing our text, copying our tool code, cloning our visual design, or republishing substantial portions of our content without our written permission. If you want to use our content in a way that goes beyond a brief quote and source link, please get in touch with us first and we will discuss it.
Brief quotes from our articles for commentary, criticism, reporting, education, or similar purposes may qualify as fair use under copyright law and do not require our permission. We encourage proper attribution with a link back to the original page when quoting from our content.
We also want to be transparent about third-party materials. Some images or media referenced on this site may belong to their respective owners. Where we use third-party material we make reasonable efforts to ensure it is either licensed for our use, falls under fair use, or is in the public domain. If you believe a specific piece of third-party content on our site is being used without proper authorization, the takedown process below is the right path to address that.
How to Submit a DMCA Takedown Notice
If you are a copyright owner or an authorized representative of a copyright owner and you believe that content appearing on Snapplanets infringes your copyright, you can submit a DMCA takedown notice to us. We review every notice we receive. For a notice to be valid and for us to be able to act on it, it must contain specific information required by the DMCA. A message that simply says your content is being copied is not enough because it does not give us the details we need to locate the material and evaluate the claim.
Please send your notice to contact@snapplanets.app with the subject line DMCA Takedown Notice so it reaches the right person on our team immediately. We aim to acknowledge receipt of every valid notice within 48 hours and to take action within a reasonable timeframe after verifying the claim. If we determine that the notice is valid and the content does infringe your copyright, we will remove or disable access to that content promptly.
Email your DMCA takedown notice to contact@snapplanets.app with the subject line DMCA Takedown Notice. We do not accept notices sent through our general contact form for legal matters. Please use direct email only.
Before submitting a notice, we encourage you to confirm that the content you are concerned about is actually infringing rather than falling under fair use or another exception. Submitting a notice for content that you believe infringes your rights but that is actually protected use can have legal consequences for you, which we explain in more detail in Section 7 of this policy. If you are unsure, it is always a good idea to consult with a copyright attorney before submitting a formal notice.
What Your Notice Must Include to Be Valid
Under Section 512(c)(3) of the DMCA, a valid takedown notice must contain all of the following elements. A notice that is missing any of these items may not be considered valid and we may not be able to act on it. We will do our best to notify you if your notice is incomplete so you can resubmit with the missing information.
A physical or electronic signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner. If you are submitting on behalf of a company or organization you must confirm that you are authorized to act as their representative. Your full legal name, job title if applicable, and the name of the copyright owner must all be included.
A clear description or direct link to the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed. If the notice relates to multiple works on the same site, you may provide a representative list, but each work should be identifiable from what you include. This could be a URL to the original published work, a title and publication date, a registration number if the work is registered, or another identifying detail that makes it clear what you own.
The specific URL or URLs on snapplanets.app where the allegedly infringing material appears. A general statement that your content appears on this website is not enough. We need the exact page addresses so our team can locate the specific content you are referring to, evaluate the claim, and take action if the notice is valid. If the material appears in multiple locations, please list each URL separately.
Sufficient contact information so that we can reach you about the notice. This must include your full name, your email address, and your mailing address. A phone number is optional but helpful if we need to reach you quickly about time-sensitive issues. We use this information only to process your notice and to communicate with you about its status.
A statement that you have a good faith belief that the use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, the copyright owner's agent, or the law. This statement confirms that you are not misusing the DMCA process to remove content that you simply dislike or disagree with but that is not actually infringing your rights.
A statement made under penalty of perjury that the information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or are authorized to act on the copyright owner's behalf. This is a legally required declaration and it is important that everything in your notice is truthful and accurate. Submitting a materially false notice can expose you to legal liability.
Important note on response time. We aim to acknowledge valid takedown notices within 48 hours of receipt and to investigate and act on confirmed infringement promptly. Response times may vary depending on the complexity of the claim and the volume of notices we are processing at any given time. Submitting an incomplete notice will extend this timeline because we will need to request the missing information before we can begin our review.
The Counter Notification Process
If content on our site is removed in response to a DMCA takedown notice and you believe that the removal was a mistake, that the content does not actually infringe the copyright claimed, or that you have authorization to use the content in question, you have the right to submit a counter-notification under Section 512(g) of the DMCA. This is your formal mechanism for disputing the takedown and requesting that the content be restored.
We take counter-notifications seriously and we process them as fairly and carefully as we process the original takedown notices. Submitting a counter-notification is a meaningful legal step and, like the original notice, it must be truthful. If you submit a counter-notification in bad faith or with false information, you may be exposed to legal liability under copyright law.
Content Is Removed Following a Takedown Notice
When we receive and validate a DMCA takedown notice, we remove or disable access to the identified content. We will make reasonable efforts to notify you that this has happened, along with a copy of the takedown notice, so you are aware of what was claimed and by whom.
You Submit a Counter Notification
If you believe the removal was in error, send your counter-notification to contact@snapplanets.app with the subject line DMCA Counter Notification. Your counter-notification must include your full name and contact information, identification of the removed content and its original URL, a statement under penalty of perjury that you have a good faith belief the content was removed in error, and your consent to jurisdiction of the federal district court for your address.
We Forward Your Counter Notification
Upon receiving your counter-notification, we are required by the DMCA to forward it to the person who submitted the original takedown notice. That person then has ten to fourteen business days to notify us that they have filed a court action to prevent the content from being restored. If they do not take that action within the timeframe, we may restore the content.
Content May Be Restored
If the original complainant does not file a court action within the required timeframe after receiving your counter-notification, we may restore the content to the site at our discretion. Please be aware that the final decision on restoration rests with us, and in some cases other legal or editorial considerations may affect whether content is ultimately restored.
Our Repeat Infringer Policy
The DMCA requires that service providers implement a policy for the termination of accounts belonging to repeat copyright infringers. While Snapplanets does not operate a user account system in the traditional sense, we do maintain a policy toward any individuals, contributors, or third-party submissions that involve repeated copyright infringement, and we take that policy seriously.
Any person or entity that repeatedly submits or contributes content that infringes the copyright of others will be permanently prohibited from contributing to or being associated with Snapplanets in any capacity. We track takedown notices and infringement patterns and we use that information to inform our decisions about ongoing relationships with contributors, partners, and any other parties who interact with our content operation.
What Counts as Repeat Infringement
We consider a party to be a repeat infringer when we receive two or more valid DMCA takedown notices relating to content submitted by or associated with that party within any rolling twelve-month period. A single notice that involves a large volume of infringing content may also trigger this determination at our discretion.
Consequences of Repeat Infringement
Parties found to be repeat infringers will have their contributions or submissions removed from the site, will be permanently disqualified from future contributions, and will be reported to any relevant platforms or registries where appropriate. We reserve the right to take further legal action if the infringement is willful or causes material harm.
How We Track and Investigate
We maintain internal records of all DMCA notices received and the content they relate to. Every notice is logged regardless of whether it results in a removal. This record allows us to identify patterns across notices and make informed judgments about repeat infringement that go beyond any single claim.
Good Faith Protections
Parties who receive a takedown notice but successfully submit a counter-notification that is not challenged will not have that incident counted against them for the purpose of the repeat infringer policy, provided the counter-notification was submitted in good faith and with accurate information.
The Consequences of Submitting a False Claim
Section 512(f) of the DMCA provides that any person who knowingly and materially misrepresents that material is infringing may be liable for damages, including costs and attorneys fees, incurred by the alleged infringer or by the service provider who acts in reliance on the misrepresentation. This is an important provision and it applies to both takedown notices and counter-notifications.
A false claim is not simply a mistaken one. Someone who genuinely and reasonably believes that content is infringing their copyright and submits a notice in good faith is protected even if they turn out to be wrong. A false claim, in the legal sense, is one where the person submitting it knows or should know that the content in question is not actually infringing, or where material facts in the notice have been intentionally misrepresented.
Do not submit a DMCA takedown notice as a way to have content removed for reasons other than genuine copyright infringement. Using the DMCA process to target content you disagree with, content that criticizes you or your work, or content that competes with your business is an abuse of the process and may result in legal liability under Section 512(f) of the DMCA. When in doubt, consult a qualified copyright attorney before filing.
We also want to be clear that if we receive a takedown notice and the content in question is clearly not infringing, for example if it is a brief quote with attribution, a factual statement that cannot be owned by copyright, or content that we have a license to use, we will not remove it and we will respond to the claimant explaining why. Our commitment to accuracy extends both to protecting the rights of copyright owners and to protecting against the misuse of the takedown process.
We encourage anyone who is uncertain about whether content they want removed is actually infringing to seek independent legal advice before submitting a formal notice. The legal consequences of getting this wrong can be significant.
Questions We Hear Most Often About This Policy
These are the questions people ask us most often when they have a copyright concern or are not sure whether the DMCA process applies to their situation.
We aim to acknowledge receipt of every valid takedown notice within 48 hours of receiving it. After acknowledgment, the time it takes to investigate and act on a notice depends on the complexity of the claim. For straightforward cases where the infringing content is easy to identify, we typically take action within a few business days. For more complex situations we will keep you updated as we work through our review.
Yes. While the DMCA is a United States law, we accept copyright infringement notices from copyright owners located anywhere in the world. If you are based outside the United States and your country has its own copyright laws, those may also apply to your situation. Regardless of where you are located, if you believe your work is being used on our site without permission, you are welcome to submit a notice using the process described on this page.
Since Snapplanets owns the copyright to its original content, we are the party with the right to submit a DMCA takedown notice against sites that copy our material without permission. If you come across another website that appears to have copied our guides, tool descriptions, or other content, we appreciate you letting us know. You can report it to us at contact@snapplanets.app and we will investigate and take appropriate action if the copying is confirmed.
No. Sharing a link to one of our pages is not copyright infringement. Quoting a brief passage from one of our articles with proper attribution and a link back to the source is generally considered fair use and is something we actually encourage. What does cross into infringement territory is copying entire articles, reproducing large sections of our content on your own site, or using our content in a way that would substitute for visiting the original page.
If you believe an image or other media element on our site belongs to you and is being used without your permission, please send us a notice at contact@snapplanets.app following the process described in Section 3 of this policy. Include the URL of the specific page where the image appears, a description or link to the original work so we can identify it, and your contact information. We will investigate promptly and remove the image if your claim is valid.
Once we receive your counter-notification, we are required under the DMCA to send a copy of it to the person who submitted the original takedown notice. That person then has between ten and fourteen business days to notify us that they have initiated a legal action to prevent the content from being restored. If we do not receive that notification within the required timeframe, we may restore the content at our discretion. We will keep you informed about the status of your counter-notification throughout this process.
How to Reach Us About a Copyright Matter
All DMCA notices, counter-notifications, and copyright-related inquiries should be sent directly to our designated copyright contact by email. This is the fastest and most reliable way to ensure your communication reaches the right person on our team. Please do not send copyright matters through our general contact form as those messages may experience delays in routing.
Use a clear and descriptive subject line so our team can identify the nature of your message and prioritize it appropriately. For a takedown notice the subject line should be DMCA Takedown Notice. For a counter-notification it should be DMCA Counter Notification. For a general copyright question the subject line Copyright Inquiry works well.
Designated DMCA and Copyright Contact
Email: contact@snapplanets.app
Subject line for takedown notices: DMCA Takedown Notice
Subject line for counter-notifications: DMCA Counter Notification
Subject line for general copyright questions: Copyright Inquiry
We review copyright correspondence on business days and aim to acknowledge valid takedown notices within 48 hours. Response times for general inquiries are typically within one to two business days.
Note on legal representation. While we handle DMCA notices ourselves, we always recommend that anyone dealing with a significant copyright dispute consult with a qualified intellectual property attorney. Copyright law can be complex and the specific facts of your situation may affect which rights and remedies are available to you. Nothing on this page constitutes legal advice.
Have a Copyright Question?
Reach out to us directly at contact@snapplanets.app and our team will get back to you. For general questions about Snapchat Planets, head back to our main guides.