Last updated: October 5, 2026

Texcovery is a publication that cares about copyright from both sides. Our reporters and photographers create original work that we expect others to respect, and we try hard to respect the work of others in return: we license the photos we use, credit our sources and link to the original wherever we quote. Mistakes still happen. If you believe something on texcovery.com infringes your copyright, this page explains how to tell us and what happens next.

Send all copyright notices to [email protected].

Which law applies

Texcovery Media is a Canadian company based in Toronto, and our website is hosted in Canada. That matters, because Canada and the United States handle online copyright complaints in different ways.

Canada: the notice-and-notice regime

Canada’s Copyright Act sets up what is called a notice-and-notice regime (sections 41.25 to 41.27). Under it, a copyright owner can send a notice of claimed infringement to an intermediary, such as an internet service provider or a host that stores material for other people. The intermediary does not have to take the material down. Instead, it must forward the notice electronically to the person responsible for the material, tell the copyright owner that it has done so (or why it could not), and keep records that would identify that person for six months, or for one year if the copyright owner starts a lawsuit and tells the intermediary within those six months. The intermediary cannot charge a fee for this unless a maximum fee has been set by regulation.

The Act also limits what a notice may contain. Since 2019, a notice that includes an offer to settle, a demand for payment or for personal information, or a link to such an offer or demand is not a valid notice under the regime, and intermediaries are not required to forward it.

On Texcovery, the main material we host on behalf of other people is reader comments. Where a notice concerns a comment, we follow the notice-and-notice process: we forward a valid notice to the email address the commenter gave us, confirm to you that we have done so, and keep the required records.

United States: DMCA notice-and-takedown

The US Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) works differently. It offers online service providers a safe harbour if they remove or disable access to allegedly infringing material promptly after receiving a valid notice, and it sets out a counter-notice procedure for people who believe material was removed by mistake.

Because many of our readers and many rights holders are in the United States, and because we would rather fix a genuine problem than argue about jurisdiction, we also honour DMCA-style takedown requests, on a voluntary basis, following the process below. This applies both to reader comments and to material our own team published, such as a photo or a quoted passage. Doing so is our choice as a publisher and does not mean that Texcovery accepts that US law governs our activities.

Our own content

Most of what appears on Texcovery is created by our editorial team and contributors. If your complaint is about something we published, such as an image used without a licence or text copied without attribution, we do not need a formal legal notice to take it seriously. Email [email protected] with the details below and we will review it. If we find that we used your work without permission and the use is not covered by fair dealing, we will remove it, replace it, or credit and license it with your agreement.

Please keep in mind that Canadian copyright law permits fair dealing for purposes including research, criticism, review and news reporting, provided the source and author are credited. Short quotations in a news story or a review may fall within fair dealing, and we will tell you if we believe that is the case.

How to file a copyright notice

To help us act quickly, please include all of the following in your notice. We have combined what Canada’s Copyright Act requires with what a DMCA notice requires, so one notice works for both processes.

1. Your contact details: your full name, mailing address, email address and phone number. If you are acting for the copyright owner, give the owner’s name as well as your own, and explain your relationship (for example, “agent for” or “legal counsel to”).
2. The work: a description of the copyrighted work you believe is being infringed, such as the title of the article or book, the photographer’s name and the original URL, or a registration number if one exists.
3. Your interest in the copyright: a statement explaining whether you own the copyright or are authorized to act for the owner.
4. The location: the exact URL or URLs on texcovery.com where the material appears. For a comment, the permalink to that comment is ideal. A link to our home page or a general description is not enough.
5. The infringement claimed: a description of what you believe is infringing and why (for example, “the photo at the top of this article is my photograph, used without a licence”).
6. Date and time: the date and time when you observed the claimed infringement.
7. Good-faith statement: a statement that you have a good-faith belief that the use of the material is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent or the law.
8. Accuracy statement: a statement that the information in your notice is accurate and, for DMCA-style requests, that under penalty of perjury you are the copyright owner or are authorized to act on the owner’s behalf.
9. Signature: your physical or electronic signature. A typed full name at the end of an email is acceptable.

Send your notice to:

Texcovery Media, Attn: Copyright
Suite 704, 120 Adelaide Street West
Toronto, ON M5H 1T1, Canada
Email: [email protected]

Email is much faster than post. Please write “Copyright notice” in the subject line.

What not to include

Do not include settlement offers, demands for payment, requests for anyone’s personal information, or links to any of these. A notice containing that kind of material does not comply with Canada’s Copyright Act, and we will not forward it to a commenter. We will ask you to resend it without the offending content.

What happens after you file

1. Acknowledgement. We confirm receipt within three business days.
2. Review. We check that your notice is complete and look at the material in question. If something is missing, we will ask for it.
3. Action on reader comments. For a valid notice about a comment, we forward it to the commenter at the email address they provided and tell you whether forwarding succeeded. If you have also asked for DMCA-style takedown and the claim appears valid on its face, we will remove or disable access to the comment.
4. Action on our own content. If the claim appears valid, we remove or replace the material, usually within five business days, and we let you know what we did. If we believe our use is lawful, we explain why.
5. Records. We keep a record of each notice and our response. Where the notice-and-notice regime applies, we retain information that identifies the commenter for six months, or one year if you notify us within that period that you have started proceedings.

We will not give you a commenter’s personal information in response to a notice. Under Canadian law, a copyright owner who wants to identify someone usually needs a court order.

Counter-notices

If you posted a comment or contributed material that we removed after a DMCA-style request, and you believe it was removed by mistake or misidentification, or that your use was lawful (for example, under fair dealing or with permission), you can send us a counter-notice at [email protected]. It should include:

1. your full name, mailing address, email address and phone number;
2. identification of the material that was removed and the URL where it appeared before removal;
3. a statement, under penalty of perjury, that you have a good-faith belief the material was removed or disabled as a result of a mistake or misidentification;
4. a statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of the courts of Ontario and the Federal Court of Canada (or, if you live in the United States, the federal district court for the judicial district where your address is located), and that you will accept service of legal documents from the person who filed the original notice or their agent; and
5. your physical or electronic signature.

When we receive a complete counter-notice, we send a copy to the person who filed the original notice. If that person does not tell us within 10 business days that they have started legal proceedings to stop the use, we may restore the material, usually between 10 and 14 business days after receiving the counter-notice. We may decline to restore material if we independently conclude it infringes.

If you received a forwarded notice under Canada’s notice-and-notice regime, you do not have to respond to it, and receiving one does not by itself mean you have broken the law or that you will be sued. You may want to get independent legal advice.

Repeat infringers

We do not allow people to use our comment section to share infringing material repeatedly. If a commenter is the subject of two or more valid copyright complaints within a 12-month period that we have not resolved in their favour, we may block them from commenting and delete their account, if they have one. Contributors who submit infringing work will not be commissioned again. We consider the circumstances of each case, including whether a counter-notice was filed.

False or abusive notices

Please do not send a notice unless you genuinely believe your copyright is being infringed. Copyright notices have real consequences for writers and readers. Under US law, knowingly misrepresenting that material is infringing, or that it was removed by mistake, can make you liable for damages. We may disregard notices that are clearly abusive, automated without review, or intended to suppress reporting rather than protect a copyright, and we may publish details of such notices in the public interest.

Other complaints

This process is for copyright only. For trademark concerns, privacy complaints or requests to correct an article, see our contact page. Privacy matters go to [email protected] and factual corrections to [email protected].

This page describes our process. It is not legal advice, and if you are unsure about your rights you should consult a lawyer.