Repeat Infringer Policy

This is placeholder text. It is the policy we enforce today (17 U.S.C. § 512(i)(1)(A)); counsel will review the wording.

The rule

A developer account that has 3 active strikes is terminated.

What earns a strike

A strike is recorded when we remove a developer's content because of a copyright notice (see the DMCA policy) and the notice is not dismissed or restored. One notice earns at most one strike per developer, however many releases or games it names.

Trademark, intimate-image and other illegal-content notices, and removals for our own safety checks, do not count as copyright strikes.

When we automatically remove an identical copy of a file already removed after a notice, that removal does not add a strike by itself. A person reviews each one and decides whether a strike applies.

How long a strike lasts

A strike counts for 12 months after the removal that earned it. After that it expires. A strike is also removed if:

• a counter-notice leads to the content being restored, or
• the developer's appeal against the removal succeeds.

What termination means

When an account reaches 3 active strikes:

• the developer account is terminated;
• all of the developer's games are removed from the store;
• the developer's API tokens are revoked;
• payouts to the developer stop;
• we email the developer a statement of reasons that lists the notices.

Strikes belong to the developer account, not to an API token or a single game. A developer cannot reset them by creating a new token.

Appeals

A terminated developer can appeal. If the appeal succeeds, the owner reverses the termination. A strike that has expired or been removed afterwards does not by itself undo a termination. They may also use out-of-court dispute settlement where available, or go to a court. See the Content Policy. [TBD by counsel: treatment of a developer who evades termination with a new account]

Takedown log

All takedowns are listed in the takedown log.