DMCA Policy

1. Overview

HOAReview, LLC operates as an online service provider within the meaning of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), 17 U.S.C. § 512. We qualify for safe harbor protection under 17 U.S.C. § 512(c) as a provider of storage for content at the direction of users, provided we meet the statutory conditions — including designating an agent to receive infringement notices, promptly removing or disabling access to infringing material upon receipt of a valid notice, and terminating the accounts of repeat infringers.

The content published on HOAReview.com consists primarily of text-based reviews of HOA communities authored by residents. Copyright infringement claims on review text are relatively uncommon, but may arise in connection with photographs, logos, documents, or other creative works uploaded in connection with profile claims or legal inquiry submissions.

This policy describes the procedure for submitting a DMCA takedown notice, the process we follow upon receipt, and the counter-notification procedure available to users whose content is removed.

2. Filing a Copyright Infringement Claim

If you are a copyright owner — or an agent authorized to act on behalf of a copyright owner — and you believe that content on HOAReview.com infringes your copyright, you may submit a written notice of claimed infringement to our Designated DMCA Agent. Your notice must include all six of the elements required by 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(3). Incomplete notices will not be acted upon and may be returned for correction.

3. Required Information for a Takedown Notice

A valid DMCA takedown notice submitted to HOAReview.com must contain all of the following six elements, as specified in 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(3)(A):

1. Physical or electronic signature — a physical or electronic signature of the copyright owner or of a person authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner. An electronic signature may consist of typing your full legal name at the end of an email submission
2. Identification of the copyrighted work — identification of the copyrighted work you claim has been infringed. If multiple works are covered by a single notification, provide a representative list of those works. Include the title, registration number (if registered with the U.S. Copyright Office), and a brief description sufficient to identify the work
3. Identification of the infringing material — identification of the material claimed to be infringing, or to be the subject of infringing activity, with information reasonably sufficient to permit us to locate the material on the Service. The most effective identification is the complete URL (web address) of the specific page or file containing the allegedly infringing content
4. Contact information — your contact information, including: your full legal name or the name of the entity you represent; a mailing address; a telephone number; and an email address at which we can contact you regarding your notice
5. Good-faith belief 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. This statement must be made in good faith; see the 17 U.S.C. § 512(f) warning in Section 4 below
6. Accuracy and authority statement — a statement that the information in your notice is accurate, and a statement made under penalty of perjury that you are the copyright owner or are authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the exclusive right that is allegedly infringed

Send your complete DMCA notice to our Designated DMCA Agent by email at dmca@hoareview.com, or through our Legal & Abuse Reports form at /legal/contact (select "DMCA Takedown Notice"). Email is strongly preferred for fastest processing. Include "DMCA Takedown Notice" in the subject line. We will acknowledge receipt of properly submitted notices within 3 business days and take action on valid notices expeditiously.

Upon receipt of a valid notice, we will: (a) remove or disable access to the identified material; (b) notify the user who submitted the content that their content has been removed and the reason; and (c) provide the user with information about the counter-notification procedure if they believe the removal was made in error.

4. Warning — False Notices Under 17 U.S.C. § 512(f)

5. Counter-Notification Procedure

If your content was removed or disabled in response to a DMCA notice and you believe the removal was made in error — for example, because your use of the copyrighted material is authorized, constitutes fair use, or because you are the actual copyright owner — you may submit a written counter-notification to our Designated DMCA Agent.

A valid counter-notification must include all five of the following elements, as required by 17 U.S.C. § 512(g)(3):

1. Physical or electronic signature — your physical or electronic signature (your full legal name typed at the end of an email submission is sufficient)
2. Identification of removed material — identification of the material that was removed or to which access was disabled, and the location where the material appeared on HOAReview.com before it was removed (e.g., the URL of the page on which it previously appeared)
3. Misidentification 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 to be removed or disabled
4. Contact information and jurisdiction consent — your full name, mailing address, and telephone number; and 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 your address is outside the United States, the Federal District Court for the District of Wyoming, where HOAReview, LLC is based), and that you will accept service of process from the person who provided the original DMCA notice, or from that person's agent
5. Accuracy statement — a statement that the information in your counter-notification is accurate

Send your counter-notification to our Designated DMCA Agent at dmca@hoareview.com with the subject line "DMCA Counter-Notification." Upon receipt of a complete and valid counter-notification, we will: (a) promptly forward a copy of the counter-notification to the original complainant; and (b) if the original complainant does not notify us within 10 to 14 business days that they have filed an action seeking a court order to restrain your use of the material, restore or re-enable access to the removed material.

Submitting a false counter-notification is subject to the same penalties under 17 U.S.C. § 512(f) described in Section 4 above.

6. Removal Requests for Imported Public-Source Content

HOAReview.com may import publicly-posted reviews and complaints from third-party platforms (e.g., Reddit, Google Reviews, government portals) when that content is directly relevant to an HOA community listed on our platform. All such imports are clearly attributed to the original source and author.

If you are the original author of imported content and wish to request its removal, you may do so through either of the following paths:

1. Copyright-based removal (DMCA) — if you own the copyright in the imported text and believe our use is not authorized, submit a DMCA takedown notice following the procedure in Sections 2–3 above. Direct your notice to dmca@hoareview.com with the subject line "DMCA Takedown Notice — Imported Content."
2. Non-copyright removal request — if you are the original author but your objection is not copyright-based (e.g., you have deleted the original posting, you no longer wish the content associated with your username, or you believe the import was erroneous), you may submit a written removal request to legal@hoareview.com with the subject line "Content Removal Request — Imported Review." Include a link to the content on HOAReview.com, a description of the original posting, and your contact information. We will process non-copyright removal requests within 5 business days on a case-by-case basis.

Non-copyright removal requests are not governed by the DMCA and do not trigger the statutory obligations described in Sections 2–5 of this policy. HOAReview.com retains discretion to decline removal of imported content where the content was publicly posted, is directly relevant to HOA governance as a matter of public concern, and no overriding legal or privacy interest requires removal.

7. Repeat Infringer Policy

In accordance with 17 U.S.C. § 512(i)(1)(A), HOAReview, LLC maintains and enforces a policy of terminating, in appropriate circumstances, the accounts of users who are determined to be repeat infringers of copyright. A user may be classified as a repeat infringer upon receipt of multiple valid DMCA notices relating to content they have submitted. We reserve the right to terminate an account following a single notice in cases of willful or egregious infringement.

8. Designated DMCA Agent

All DMCA notices and counter-notifications must be directed to our Designated DMCA Agent. This agent is registered with the U.S. Copyright Office pursuant to 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(2).

Email submission to dmca@hoareview.com is the fastest method and strongly preferred. Mailed notices must be sent to the registered mailing address above by a trackable delivery method. HOAReview.com is not responsible for notices that are mislabeled, incomplete, or sent to a different address.

9. Modifications

HOAReview, LLC reserves the right to modify this DMCA Policy at any time. Changes are effective upon posting to this page. The "Last Updated" date at the top of this policy reflects the date of the most recent revision. Questions about this policy may be directed to dmca@hoareview.com.