Copyright & DMCA Policy

Before any material reaches the marketplace, it passes through a five-layer content integrity check:

• Layer A — Exact duplicate detection: SHA-256 hash comparison blocks re-uploads of identical files already in the system.
• Layer B — Near-duplicate detection: SimHash fingerprinting flags materials with ≥85% similarity to existing content for human review.
• Layer C — Web plagiarism check: Copyscape scans every upload against the public web. Matches above 20% are flagged for review.
• Layer D — IP attestation: Every lecturer confirms "I confirm this material is my original work or I hold the rights to distribute it. I take full legal responsibility for any intellectual property claims arising from this submission."
• Layer E — DMCA takedown process: A publicly documented process (this page) for rights holders to report infringing content at any time.

Layers A, D, and E are never relaxed. This system does not eliminate all risk of infringement, and rights holders should use the process below if they discover infringing content on the platform.

Formal DMCA takedown notices may only be submitted by a copyright owner or their authorised agent. Submitting a notice on behalf of someone else requires explicit authorisation.

Buyers and students who encounter content that appears inappropriate should use the Report this material link on the listing page. That button sends the material to our internal review queue and does not constitute a formal DMCA notice.

False or bad-faith notices expose the submitter to legal liability under 17 U.S.C. § 512(f) (see Section 7 below).

To be valid, a DMCA takedown notice must include all six of the following elements. Incomplete notices will not be processed.

1. Your identity: Your full legal name and your relationship to the copyrighted work (owner or authorised agent).
2. Contact information: An email address at which you can be reached for follow-up.
3. Work identification: A description of the copyrighted work you believe has been infringed (e.g., title, author, publication details, ISBN).
4. Material location: The URL of the Knovia listing containing the allegedly infringing material, and the KNV identifier shown on the listing page (e.g., KNV-00001234).
5. Good faith statement: “I have a good faith belief that the use of the material described above is not authorised by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.”
6. Accuracy and perjury statement: “I declare under penalty of perjury that the information in this notice is accurate and that I am the copyright owner or am authorised to act on behalf of the copyright owner.” Include your full legal name as your signature.

Send your complete notice by email to:

dmca@knovia.co

Email is the only accepted submission method at this time. Notices sent to other addresses, submitted via social media, or submitted through any other channel will not be processed.

Use the Report this material link on any listing page to open a pre-formatted email template containing all required fields.

Upon receiving a complete, valid notice:

1. Immediate hiding: The material is immediately hidden from the marketplace. It is not deleted — the file is preserved as evidence.
2. Dual notification: Both the reporting party and the listing lecturer receive an email notification within a few hours of receipt.
3. Human review within 48 hours: Our team reviews the claim against the material.
4. If infringement confirmed: The material is permanently removed from the platform and an enforcement action (Tier 4 — permanent ban) is applied to the lecturer's account.
5. If infringement not confirmed: The material is restored to the marketplace and the reporting party is notified of the outcome.
6. Appeal window: Either party may appeal within 14 days of the outcome decision.

Submitting a DMCA takedown notice knowing the material does not infringe your copyright — or with the intent to suppress lawful content — is a violation of 17 U.S.C. § 512(f). You may be liable for damages, including costs and attorneys' fees, incurred by us or the affected lecturer.

We document all notices and outcomes. Demonstrably false notices will be referred to appropriate legal authorities and may be shared with the affected lecturer for use in any legal action they choose to bring.

If your material was removed and you believe the takedown was made in error or based on a misidentification, you may submit a counter-notification to dmca@knovia.co.

A valid counter-notification must include:

1. Your full legal name, address, telephone number, and email address.
2. Identification of the specific material that was removed and its location on Knovia before removal (use the KNV identifier or material URL).
3. A statement under penalty of perjury that you have a good faith belief that the material was removed as a result of mistake or misidentification.
4. 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 outside the United States, any judicial district in which Knovia may be found), and that you will accept service of process from the person who provided the original notice or their agent.

If we receive a valid counter-notification, we will forward it to the original complainant and restore the material within 10–14 business days unless the complainant notifies us that they have filed a court action seeking to restrain you from engaging in the infringing activity.

In accordance with 17 U.S.C. § 512(i), Knovia maintains and enforces a policy that provides for the termination of accounts of users who are repeat copyright infringers.

A lecturer account is designated as a repeat infringer after two confirmed copyright infringement findings. Upon designation as a repeat infringer, the account is permanently terminated and the lecturer is prohibited from re-registering on the platform.

Knovia retains full discretion to terminate an account at any stage where the pattern of conduct indicates a disregard for intellectual property rights.

If you are a lecturer on Knovia and you discover that another lecturer has uploaded a material that is substantially identical to yours:

• Use the Report this material link on the infringing listing to trigger our internal review process. Include your own listing's KNV identifier in the email body so our team can compare the two materials directly.
• For deliberate duplication with intent to defraud, submit a formal DMCA notice to dmca@knovia.co as described in Sections 3–4 above.

Our content integrity system (Section 1) is specifically designed to catch and block near-duplicate submissions before they are published.