Copyright & Content Takedown

1. The legal framework

Cloxy is an intermediary: users create and upload content, and we host it. Three pieces of Indian law shape how takedowns work here:

• The Copyright Act, 1957 - the statute that protects creative works in India and defines infringement.
• Section 79 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 - the safe harbour that protects intermediaries like Cloxy, provided we act on valid notices and follow due diligence.
• The IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 - the rules that set our grievance process and the timelines in Section 5.

This policy is how we meet those obligations. It works alongside the Intellectual Property Policy, which explains who owns what on the platform.

2. Who can file a notice

A takedown notice may be filed by the rights holder - the person or company that owns the copyright or other right - or by an agent authorised to act on their behalf, such as a lawyer, a publisher, or a rights-management agency. If you are filing as an agent, say so in your notice and confirm your authority (Section 3, item 5).

You do not need a Cloxy account to file a notice. Users who simply want to flag inappropriate content can also report it in the app or through the Contact & Grievance Officer page; formal rights claims should follow this policy.

3. What a valid notice must contain

So that we can act quickly and accurately, your notice must include all six of the following:

1. Identification of the protected work - what the work is (photo, text, design, or other work), and where we can see the original, such as a link to your website or a copy attached to the notice.
2. The exact location of the infringing material - the URL on cloxy.co, or the precise in-app location (for example, the profile, chat, or listing where the material appears), with enough detail for us to find it.
3. Your contact details - your full name, postal address, email address, and phone number, so we can reach you about the notice.
4. A good-faith statement - a statement that you believe, in good faith, that the use of the material is not authorised by the rights owner, its agent, or the law.
5. An accuracy and authority statement - a statement that the information in the notice is accurate, and that you are the rights owner or are authorised to act on the rights owner's behalf.
6. Your signature - a physical signature on a scanned notice, or an electronic signature, including a typed full name submitted by email.

4. Where to send your notice

Send takedown notices to our Grievance Officer, the designated recipient under the IT Rules, 2021:

5. Our timelines

The IT Rules, 2021 set firm deadlines for platforms operating in India, and we commit to them:

6. What we do when your notice arrives

1. We acknowledge the notice within 24 hours and log it.
2. Our team reviews the notice, the identified content, and the context in which it appears.
3. Where the claim is justified, we remove the content or disable access to it.
4. Where appropriate, we notify the user who uploaded the content, tell them why it was removed, and give them a chance to respond (Section 7).
5. We tell you the outcome within the 15-day window.

We may preserve removed content and related records as evidence, as the law permits or requires.

7. Counter-notices

If your content is removed under this policy and you believe the complaint is wrong, you may respond with a justification - for example, that you created the work, that you hold a licence, or that the use is otherwise permitted. Send your response to the Grievance Officer (Section 4) with the same care Section 3 asks of complainants: identify the content, explain your rights, and include your contact details.

We review counter-notices on their merits. If the original complaint does not hold up, we may restore the content. We may share the substance of your counter-notice with the complainant so the dispute can be resolved.

8. Repeat infringers

Accounts that repeatedly upload infringing content lose access to Cloxy. Each upheld takedown is recorded against the account, and repeated violations lead to suspension or termination under the Terms of Service.

9. Misuse of this process

Takedown notices are serious instruments, and filing one you know to be false is itself a violation. Knowingly false or bad-faith complaints - for example, claiming rights you do not hold to get a competitor's content removed - may lead to action against your account and can carry legal consequences under Indian law.

10. Notices from outside India

We accept DMCA-style notices from international rights holders and their agents, and we process them under this policy. A properly drafted DMCA notice already contains everything Section 3 requires, so you can send it as is to the Grievance Officer (Section 4). Indian law governs how we handle it, and the timelines in Section 5 apply.