Open Civic Systems — Legal Document
| Organization | Open Civic Systems (OCS) — 501(c)(3) nonprofit |
| Platform | Factkeeper (factkeeper.org) |
| Version | 1.0 |
| Effective Date | January 2026 |
| Last Reviewed | January 2026 |
Open Civic Systems ("OCS," "we," "us," or "our") respects the intellectual property rights of others and expects users of Factkeeper to do the same. This policy describes how we respond to claims of copyright infringement in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 ("DMCA").
Factkeeper is a platform for community-managed historical archives. While we believe strongly in the importance of preserving the historical record, we are committed to responding appropriately to valid copyright infringement claims.
This DMCA Policy applies to all content publicly accessible through Factkeeper, including but not limited to:
Current Content Types:
Future Content Types (on our roadmap):
Internal Processing (not publicly accessible): Factkeeper may cache or store source content internally for AI analysis and archival purposes. This internal content is not publicly accessible and is retained solely for operational and preservation purposes.
Our Safe Harbor protections under 17 U.S.C. § 512, our notice-and-takedown procedures, and our Repeat Infringer Policy apply to all publicly accessible content types listed above, whether currently implemented or added in the future. We maintain the same commitment to responding expeditiously to valid DMCA notices regardless of how content is created or hosted.
OCS has designated an agent to receive notifications of claimed infringement under the DMCA. Our designated agent's contact information is:
DMCA Agent Open Civic Systems 1110 Via Regina Santa Barbara, CA 93111
Email: dmca@opencivicsystems.org
DMCA Registration Number: DMCA-1069530
If you believe that content hosted on Factkeeper infringes your copyright, you may submit a written notification to our Designated Agent. To be effective under the DMCA, your notification must include the following:
Signature: A physical or electronic signature of the copyright owner or a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.
Identification of Copyrighted Work: Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works.
Identification of Infringing Material: Identification of the material that is 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, and information reasonably sufficient to permit us to locate the material. Please provide specific URLs where the allegedly infringing material appears.
Contact Information: Information reasonably sufficient to permit us to contact you, such as an address, telephone number, and email address.
Good Faith Statement: A statement that you have a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.
Accuracy Statement: A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that you are authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.
Please send your notice to: dmca@opencivicsystems.org
Upon receipt of a valid DMCA notice, we will act expeditiously to remove or disable access to the allegedly infringing material. We will also notify the user who posted the content, if identifiable.
If you believe that material you posted was removed or disabled by mistake or misidentification, you may submit a counter-notice to our Designated Agent. To be effective, your counter-notice must include the following:
Signature: Your physical or electronic signature.
Identification of Material: Identification of the material that has been removed or to which access has been disabled, and the location at which the material appeared before it was removed or access was disabled.
Good Faith Statement: 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 of the material.
Consent to Jurisdiction: 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 you are outside the United States, the Central District of California), and that you will accept service of process from the person who provided the original notification or an agent of such person.
Contact Information: Your name, address, and telephone number.
Please send your counter-notice to: dmca@opencivicsystems.org
Upon receipt of a valid counter-notice, we will forward it to the original complaining party. If the original complaining party does not notify us within ten (10) to fourteen (14) business days that they have filed a court action seeking to restrain the allegedly infringing activity, we may restore the removed material or cease disabling access to it.
In accordance with the DMCA and other applicable law, OCS has adopted a policy of terminating, in appropriate circumstances, the accounts of users who are deemed to be repeat infringers.
We may also, at our sole discretion, limit access to the Service and/or terminate the accounts of any users who infringe any intellectual property rights of others, whether or not there is any repeat infringement.
This policy applies to all users of Factkeeper, including:
Chronicle administrators and curators bear particular responsibility for ensuring that content published to their Chronicle does not infringe third-party copyrights.
Please be aware that under 17 U.S.C. § 512(f), any person who knowingly materially misrepresents that material is infringing, or that material was removed or disabled by mistake or misidentification, may be subject to liability for damages, including costs and attorneys' fees.
We encourage you to consult with a legal professional before submitting a DMCA notice or counter-notice.
We may update this policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we will notify users by posting the updated policy on Factkeeper with a new effective date.
For questions about this policy or to submit a DMCA notice or counter-notice, please contact:
Email: dmca@opencivicsystems.org
Mail: DMCA Agent Open Civic Systems 1110 Via Regina Santa Barbara, CA 93111
For general inquiries not related to DMCA matters, please contact support@opencivicsystems.org.
Effective Date: January 2026