OpenAQ DMCA (Copyright Infringement) Policy

Last updated: August 4, 2024

1. Third-Party Data Policy

OpenAQ aggregates third-party air quality data, including user-contributed data. It is our policy to only publish data: (1) that is in the public domain, (2) for which we have a license from the copyright owner, or (3) that we have determined we are authorized to publish under the fair use doctrine or a similar legal principle.

If an OpenAQ employee, board member, or community member learns that data being hosted by OpenAQ may infringe the rights of a third party, they should bring it to the immediate attention of the Executive Director.

2. Reports of Copyright Infringement: User-Contributed Content

Section 512 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) protects publishers of user-contributed content from infringement claims, provided that the publisher complies with certain procedural requirements for responding to infringement notices received from copyright holders and counter-notifications from users. It is OpenAQ’s policy to respond to all infringement notifications regarding user-contributed content according to the procedures in this section.

a. Step 1: Notification from a Copyright Owner

Copyright owners wishing to notify OpenAQ of allegedly infringing user-contributed materials on our site or services must submit a notification to our registered agent containing the following information:

1. Their physical or electronic signature.
2. Identification of the copyrighted work they believe to have been infringed or, if the claim involves multiple works, a representative list of those works.
3. Identification of the material they believe to be infringing in a sufficiently precise manner to allow us to locate that material.
4. Adequate information by which we can contact the copyright owner or their agent (including their name, postal address, telephone number, and, if available, email address).
5. A statement that they have a good faith belief that use of the copyrighted material is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.
6. A statement that the information in the written notice is accurate.
7. A statement, under penalty of perjury, that they are authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner.

A notice that does not contain substantially all of this information, or is not sent to our registered agent, may be invalid. However, all notifications should be brought to the immediate attention of the Executive Director for review.

b. Step 2: Responding to the Copyright Owner’s Notification

Upon receipt of a DMCA notification from a copyright owner, OpenAQ will:

1. Review the notice to confirm that it is valid. If the notice or the claim of infringement appears invalid, the Executive Director will determine whether to proceed with removal.
2. Remove or disable access to the allegedly infringing content.
3. Send an email to the contributor of the content, attaching a copy of the infringement notice and: (a) notifying them that the content has been removed or disabled, and (b) directing them to the process for submitting a counter-notification if they believe the content was removed in error.

c. Step 3: Counter-notification from the User

A user whose content was removed in response to a notice from a copyright owner may submit a counter-notification informing OpenAQ that their contribution was removed in error. This counter-notification must include:

1. Their physical or electronic signature.
2. An 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 disabled.
3. Adequate information by which we can contact them (including their name, postal address, telephone number, and, if available, email address).
4. A statement under penalty of perjury that they have a good faith belief that the material identified above was removed or disabled as a result of a mistake or misidentification of the material to be removed or disabled.
5. A statement that they consent to the jurisdiction of the U.S. federal district court for the judicial district in which their address is located (or if they reside outside the United States, for any judicial district where OpenAQ may be found) and that they will accept service from the person (or an agent of that person) who submitted the infringement notice.

d. Step 4: Responding to User Counter-notifications

Upon receipt of a DMCA notification, OpenAQ will:

1. Contact the person who submitted the infringement notice, attaching a copy of the counter-notification and notifying them that the content will be restored after 15 business days.
2. Wait 15 business days to take further action. If, during those 15 business days, the copyright holder notifies OpenAQ that it has filed a court action seeking a restraining order against the user, OpenAQ will take no further action and will not restore the content.
3. Between 15-20 business days after receipt of the counter-notification, restore access to the content, unless the copyright owner has informed us that they have filed a court action seeking a restraining order against the user.

After restoring content in response to a counter-notification, OpenAQ is not required to take any action in response to further infringement notifications from the same copyright owner with regard to that content.

3. Reports of Copyright Infringement: All Other Content

The DMCA procedures in Section 2 apply only to notices regarding user-provided content. If OpenAQ receives a complaint from a copyright owner alleging that any other content hosted by OpenAQ is infringing, it should be brought to the immediate attention of the Executive Director, who will determine how to respond.

4. Repeat Infringement Policy

It is our policy to disable and/or terminate the accounts of users who repeatedly submit infringing content. For the purpose of this determination, a contribution will not be deemed infringing solely on the basis that it was the subject of an infringement notice from a copyright owner.