Intellectual Property Policy (DMCA / Content Takedown)

At Babelix, we value and respect intellectual property. This policy outlines the rules regarding the content users share on the platform, the rights of the original creators, the license you grant to Babelix when publishing content, and the procedure for reporting and removing content that infringes copyright or other intellectual property rights (following principles similar to the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act – DMCA). Our goal is to protect the rights of creators while maintaining a safe platform free from unauthorized content use.

User Rights Regarding Your Original Content

Ownership: As a user, you own all the original content you post or transmit through Babelix (e.g., photos, videos, profile descriptions, messages, etc.). Babelix does not claim ownership of your personal creations.

License Grant to Babelix: By using the platform and publishing your content, you grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide license (valid everywhere) to use your content in connection with the provision of our services. This license is royalty-free (meaning we do not have to pay you for such use) and allows us to store, reproduce, distribute, display, and, if necessary, adapt or translate your content within the Babelix platform.

The purpose of this license is to operate, promote, and improve the service: for example, to display your photos to other members, adapt image sizes to the interface, or include your content in Babelix promotional materials (such as app screenshots on the App Store, Babelix social media channels, etc.). Rest assured, this license is non-exclusive, meaning you can still use your content as you wish and grant permission to others as well; you only grant Babelix the necessary permission to handle your content within our ecosystem.

License Duration and Revocation: The license you grant Babelix for your content remains in effect as long as your content is available on the platform. If you delete specific content from Babelix or close your account, Babelix will cease using that content in the normal course of its operations.

The license for that particular material will terminate (except to the extent we may have created derivative works, such as an app screenshot that included your content before deletion or temporary backups that will later be deleted in accordance with our retention policies).

Please note that while we delete or anonymize your data under data protection law, content you have shared with other users (e.g., a sent message or photo) may still be accessible by those third parties if they have already viewed or downloaded it.

User Warranty: By posting any content on Babelix, you represent and warrant that the content belongs to you or that you possess the necessary authorizations and licenses to publish it and grant the permit to Babelix as described herein. In other words, you promise that you are not uploading photos, texts, audio, videos, or other material for which you do not hold the rights or have permission from the author to use. You also warrant that the content does not infringe upon the rights of third parties, including copyright, trademarks, image rights, privacy, or other intellectual property or personal rights. Uploading third-party content without permission may result in the suspension or termination of your account, as well as potential legal consequences.

Unauthorized Use and Prohibited Content

• Prohibition of Infringement: Babelix is strictly prohibited from posting, sharing, sending, or otherwise making available any content that infringes the copyright or other intellectual property rights of third parties. This includes, for example, uploading photos found on the internet for which you do not hold the rights, using text or descriptions copied from someone else without authorization, or sharing any copyrighted material without the owner’s consent.
• Protective Measures: Babelix reserves the right to remove or disable access to any content that, in our judgment, violates intellectual property rights or upon receipt of a valid notification. Furthermore, we may suspend or terminate the accounts of users who are found to be repeat infringers (see the section below on repeat infringers). We aim to comply with applicable intellectual property laws (such as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, or DMCA, in the U.S.) and foster a community where creative work and everyone’s rights are respected.
• Abuse of Notifications: Similarly, abusing the notification process (e.g., submitting false or malicious infringement claims against other users without basis) violates this policy. We will investigate received infringement notifications and, if we determine that a claim is intentionally false or submitted in bad faith, may take action against the sender, including account suspension, to prevent abusive behavior.

How to Report an Infringement (DMCA Notification)

If you believe that any content published on Babelix infringes your copyright (e.g., your photo used without permission or your original text copied by another user) or otherwise violates your intellectual property rights, please notify us immediately. You can submit an infringement notification following these guidelines, which are inspired by the requirements for a formal notice under the DMCA:

• Identification of the Rights Holder: A statement including your full name, contact information (email address and phone number), and, if you represent an organization or a third party, a clear indication of your authority to act on behalf of the owner of the allegedly infringed right. You must also include a signature – physical or electronic – of the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright or other right that is allegedly infringed. If you submit the notification via email, the name you type at the end of the email can serve as your electronic signature.

• Work Affected: Clearly identify the copyrighted work or other intellectual property that you believe has been infringed. For example, if it is a photograph, provide a description of the photo (and optionally a copy or link to the original work if published elsewhere); if it is text, indicate the title or the first few lines. If multiple works are infringed upon by the same user or on the same page, you may provide a representative list of such works in the notification.
• Infringing Content on Babelix: Detail the specific material on Babelix that allegedly infringes your work or is the subject of the infringing activity. You must provide sufficient information to enable us to locate the content within our platform. For example, indicate the user profile, post, or message where the material appears, the description of the photo or text in question, and any additional data (such as the specific Babelix URL, if applicable). However, note that some parts of Babelix may only be accessible via the app. The more precise you are in this identification, the faster we can find and review the disputed content.
• Complainant’s Contact Information: Include information reasonably sufficient to permit us to contact you, the complaining party. This should include a valid email address (if different from the one you are using to send the notification), your contact phone number, and, optionally, a physical or postal address. This information will be used to confirm receipt of your complaint and request clarification if necessary.
• Statement of Good Faith Belief: The body of your notification must include a clear statement affirming that you “have a good faith belief that the use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner (or other intellectual property rights holder), its agent, or the law.” In other words, explain that the content you are reporting is being used without the rights holder’s permission and that no legal exception (such as fair use, where applicable in relevant jurisdictions) justifies this use.
• Statement of Accuracy and Authority: Finally, you must include a statement declaring that the information in your notification is accurate and truthful and that you are authorized to file the complaint on behalf of the owner of the allegedly infringed right. This statement must be made under penalty of perjury. For example, you can write: “I declare, under penalty of perjury, that the information contained in this notification is accurate and that I am the owner (or am authorized to act on behalf of the owner) of the copyright or exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.”

Submitting the Notification: Once you have gathered the above information, send your infringement notification to Babelix. The fastest way to contact us is by email, addressed to our Intellectual Property Agent at hello@babelix.com. Please use a clear subject line, such as “Copyright Infringement Notification” or “Intellectual Property Claim,” so we can promptly identify it. If for any reason you prefer to send a physical notification via traditional mail, you can address it to the legal headquarters of Marvixia OÜ (Babelix) in Estonia (include “Attn: Copyright Agent” on the envelope). Note: Email is the preferred and most efficient method, allowing us to act more quickly.

Babelix’s Procedure Upon Receiving Infringement Notifications

Babelix commits to diligently investigating all intellectual property infringement notifications that meet the requirements above:

• Receipt Confirmation: Upon receiving your notification, we will typically send you an email acknowledging that we have initiated the process. If the notification is incomplete or lacks essential information, we may contact you to request clarification or additional details before proceeding.
• Initial Assessment: Our legal and support team will review the claim and the identified content. We will analyze whether, at first glance, the notification meets the required criteria (e.g., contains the necessary statements) and whether the content appears to infringe the copyright or other rights mentioned.
• Temporary Measures: During the investigation, we may take preventive measures, such as temporarily blocking public access to the disputed content. This does not imply a final decision but is done to minimize potential harm while the matter is being resolved.
• Notification to the Alleged Infringer: If we determine that the notification appears valid and the reported content may be infringing rights, Babelix will proceed to remove or disable access to said content on the platform. We will also notify the user who posted the content in question about the received complaint and the action taken. In that notification to the user, we will include, where appropriate, a summary of the claim (e.g., “Your photo X has been removed due to a copyright infringement claim from the rights holder”) and inform them of their right to submit a counter-notification if they believe the removal was due to a mistake or misidentification. We will generally not disclose your personal contact information to the alleged infringer at this stage; however, we may mention the allegedly infringed work so that the user understands the context.
• Decision and Removal: In most cases where the claim is clear and valid, we will permanently remove the infringing content from Babelix. If the infringement is not obvious or if there is legal uncertainty (e.g., claims of fair use or prior authorization), we might keep the content blocked while seeking further legal advice or until a resolution is received (e.g., a court order or agreement between parties). In any case, both the complainant and the affected user will be informed of the final outcome of the claim regarding the content’s status on Babelix.

Counter-Notification: How to Respond if Your Content Was Removed by Mistake

If you are a Babelix user who has received a notification stating that your content was removed due to alleged copyright infringement, but you believe the removal was mistaken (because you believe the content does not infringe any rights, you have valid authorization, it is your own original work, etc.), you have the right to submit a counter-notification. A counter-notification is a formal process for disputing a claim and requesting the reinstatement of your content. Here’s how to proceed:

Your counter-notification must be a written communication addressed to Babelix’s Intellectual Property Agent (email: hello@babelix.com) and include the following:

• a. Identification of the Removed Content: Precisely describe the material that was removed or disabled and the location where it appeared before removal. For example: “The profile picture I uploaded on [Date] titled ‘Beach Photo’ was removed,” or “My post in the [Specific Area/Forum] dated [Date] concerning ‘[Topic]’ was disabled.” Also, indicate where the content was located (e.g., on your profile, in messages, etc.). This allows us to identify the exact content to which your counter-notification refers.
• b. Statement of Good Faith Belief: Include a statement affirming, under penalty of perjury, that you “have a good faith belief that the content was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification of the material to be removed.” Essentially, you are stating that you honestly believe your content does not infringe any rights and that the claim against you may be mistaken or incorrect.
• c. Contact Information and Legal Consent: Provide your full name, address, email address, and phone number. Additionally, you must include a statement consenting to the jurisdiction of the competent courts regarding the alleged infringement. Given that Babelix is operated by an entity established in Estonia, you should include a statement such as: “I consent to the jurisdiction of the courts of Estonia for any judicial process that may arise from this counter-notification, and I agree to accept service of process from the party who provided the original infringement notification or an agent of such party.” This clause is required in the spirit of the DMCA process so that if the complaining party decides to pursue legal action, you commit to responding before an appropriate court.
• d. Signature: Sign the counter-notification. As with the original notification, this can be a physical signature (if sent on paper) or your full typed name, which serves as an electronic signature if sent via email.

Submitting the Counter-Notification: Send your counter-notification to hello@babelix.com with the subject line “Counter-Notification – Copyright Claim”. Please ensure that you send it from the email address associated with your Babelix account or include information that allows us to verify that you are the owner of the account whose content was removed.

Procedure After Receiving the Counter-Notification: When Babelix receives your complete counter-notification:

• Notification to Complaining Party: We will notify the complaining party (complainant) and forward a copy of your counter-notification to them. This copy will include your contact information; please be aware that you consent to us sharing this information with the complainant by submitting the counter-notification. This step is necessary so the complainant is aware of your challenge to their claim and has the opportunity, should they choose, to initiate legal action to resolve the matter.
• Content Reinstatement: If the complainant does not inform us within a period of 10 business days (or another applicable legal timeframe, check local regulations if necessary) that they have filed a court action seeking an order to restrain you from engaging in infringing activity related to the material on Babelix, then Babelix may reinstate the removed content. In simple terms, if approximately 10 business days pass without the complainant notifying us that they have taken the case to court, we will generally understand that the matter has not proceeded legally at that stage. We may restore your content on the platform. We will notify you by email if this occurs. Please note that Babelix reserves the right, at its discretion, not to reinstate content if we have reason to believe it may still violate our terms or applicable laws. Still, in the absence of notice of legal action from the complainant, reinstatement according to this procedure is the standard course.
• If Legal Action is Taken: In the event that the complainant does file a lawsuit or take formal legal action within the established timeframe and notifies us appropriately according to legal requirements, Babelix cannot restore the content unless and until there is a legal resolution (such as a court order or settlement agreement) instructing us to do so. Unfortunately, the content will remain offline, and the conflict must be resolved between the parties (you and the complainant) through the appropriate legal channels. Babelix will cooperate by providing legally required information, but cannot adjudicate the underlying intellectual property dispute outside of following this established DMCA-style notice and counter-notice procedure.

Repeat Infringers

Babelix takes repeat copyright infringement seriously. Following the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and other applicable intellectual property laws, we reserve the right to terminate or permanently suspend the accounts of users who are found to be repeat infringers. Specifically, if the same user is the subject of multiple valid infringement notifications (e.g., several substantiated copyright complaints against different content they have uploaded) or if they have ignored previous warnings related to infringement, we may delete their account and ban their access to the platform. Before taking such action, we will evaluate the circumstances to ensure these are not based on errors or false reports. Repeat intellectual property violations are handled strictly, as we aim to protect creators’ rights and comply with the law.

Please note that account termination is a significant measure and will generally be applied after opportunities for correction have been provided (e.g., after the first valid infringement notification, we typically issue a warning and provide information about our policy). However, in serious cases (such as the deliberate mass publication of pirated content or other egregious violations), termination may be immediate without prior warning. Suppose your account is terminated for repeatedly infringing copyright or other intellectual property rights. In that case, you will not be entitled to a refund for any active subscription or other payments made in accordance with our Refund Policy.

Contact and Clarifications

For any questions about this Intellectual Property Policy or to request clarification on how to proceed regarding a potential infringement, you can contact us at hello@babelix.com. We strongly recommend that all our users ensure, before publishing any content on Babelix, that such content does not violate the rights of third parties. Suppose you are unsure about any material (e.g., a Photo featuring identifiable people other than yourself, a quote whose origin or rights status you don’t know, music, etc.). In that case, it’s always best to be cautious: please consult our Community Guidelines or seek guidance from Babelix support before posting.

By using Babelix, you agree to comply with this Intellectual Property Policy. This policy protects the rights of users and third parties, fostering a trustworthy environment where content can be shared safely and legally. We appreciate your cooperation and respect for everyone’s creations and rights. If we all act responsibly and in good faith, Babelix will continue to be an enriching and respectful community. Thank you for your attention and for being part of Babelix!