1. Our position
Choirside lets choir directors and members upload and share choral practice material. All content on the Service is uploaded by users. We do not review it for copyright status before it appears.
We respect copyright and expect our users to do the same. We respond to valid notices of claimed infringement, and we terminate the accounts of repeat infringers.
2. A note for choir directors
Most published choral music is protected by copyright; scores, arrangements, accompaniment tracks, and commercial recordings alike. Owning printed copies does not give you the right to scan, upload, or distribute them.
The rights you need usually come from one of:
- a blanket license held by your church, school, or choral organization;
- a per-work reprint or digital license from the publisher; or
- direct permission from the rights holder.
Public domain works, and works you or your choir created yourselves, are generally safe to upload. If you are unsure about a specific piece, ask the publisher or your organization’s licensing administrator before uploading it. Our Terms of Service require you to hold the necessary rights for everything you upload.
3. Designated agent
We have registered a designated agent with the United States Copyright Office to receive notices of claimed infringement:
Designated Copyright Agent Broadhead Software 287 W Hillside Drive, Saratoga Springs, Utah 84045 Email: copyright@broadheadsoftware.com Phone: +1 (801) 616-8672
Notices sent to any other address may not be effective.
4. Submitting a notice of claimed infringement
If you believe content on the Service infringes a copyright you own or are authorized to act for, send our designated agent a written notice containing all of the following:
- A physical or electronic signature of the copyright owner, or a person authorized to act on their behalf.
- Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or a representative list if multiple works are covered by a single notice.
- Identification of the material claimed to be infringing, with enough detail for us to locate it — ideally the choir name, the track or file name, and a screenshot.
- Your contact information: address, telephone number, and email address.
- A statement that you have a good faith belief that the use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.
- A statement that the information in the notice is accurate, and, under penalty of perjury, that you are authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner.
Incomplete notices may delay our response. If your notice is deficient we will normally tell you what is missing.
Please note: under 17 U.S.C. § 512(f), a person who knowingly materially misrepresents that material is infringing may be liable for damages, including costs and legal fees.
5. What we do when we receive a notice
On receipt of a valid notice we will:
- Remove or disable access to the material expeditiously.
- Notify the user who uploaded it, and provide them a copy of the notice.
- Record a copyright strike against that user’s account.
- Inform them of their right to submit a counter-notice.
Removal is not a determination that infringement occurred. It is our response to a facially valid notice.
6. Submitting a counter-notice
If your content was removed and you believe the removal was a mistake or a misidentification, you may send our designated agent a counter-notice containing all of the following:
- Your physical or electronic signature.
- Identification of the material that was removed, and the location where it appeared before removal.
- A statement under penalty of perjury that you have a good faith belief the material was removed as a result of mistake or misidentification.
- Your name, address, and telephone number.
- A statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of the Federal District Court for the judicial district in which your address is located, or, if your address is outside the United States, to the jurisdiction of any judicial district in which we may be found; and that you will accept service of process from the person who submitted the original notice, or their agent.
Only submit a counter-notice if you genuinely hold the rights. A counter-notice is a sworn statement, and misrepresentation carries liability under § 512(f).
7. What happens after a counter-notice
We will forward your counter-notice to the person who submitted the original notice, and tell them we will restore the material in 10 to 14 business days.
We will restore the material at the end of that period unless the original complainant notifies us that they have filed a court action seeking to restrain you from the infringing activity.
8. Repeat infringer policy
We terminate the accounts of repeat infringers in appropriate circumstances.
How strikes work:
- A strike is recorded when we remove content in response to a valid notice that is not successfully counter-noticed.
- A strike is removed if the material is restored following a counter-notice, or if the complainant withdraws the notice.
- Strikes expire 12 months after they are recorded.
Consequences:
| Strikes | Action |
|---|---|
| 1 | Written warning, content removed, explanation of licensing obligations |
| 2 | Written warning, upload privileges suspended for 30 days |
| 3 | Account terminated, and choirs the user owns transferred or closed |
We may terminate an account immediately, regardless of strike count, in cases of egregious or willful infringement, for example, bulk uploading of a publisher’s catalog, or evading a prior termination.
Where a terminated user was the owner of a choir, we will make reasonable efforts to let the choir’s members retain access to content they uploaded themselves.
9. Trademark and other complaints
For trademark concerns or other intellectual property complaints not covered by the DMCA process, contact us at copyright@broadheadsoftware.com with details of your rights and the material concerned.
10. Records
We keep records of notices received, counter-notices, actions taken, and strikes against accounts. We retain these so we can apply this policy consistently and identify repeat infringers, as described in our Privacy Policy.
11. Contact
Broadhead Software - Designated Copyright Agent copyright@broadheadsoftware.com 287 W Hillside Drive, Saratoga Springs, Utah 84045 Phone: +1 (801) 616-8672