Binder

Copyright and Takedown Policy

Version française

Last updated: 2026-09-30 (version 2026-09-30)

If you are a publisher, author, instructor or university, and you think your copyright material is in Binder without permission, email owen@homick.com with the details in section 2. I will pass your notice to the account holder, keep a record, and may disable the file while it is sorted out. Accounts that repeatedly upload material they have no right to are ended.

Binder is a place where university students keep their own copy of the material they already have from their instructors (lessons, homework, answer keys) and their own notes. It is not a place to get material they do not have, and uploading textbooks is not a supported use. Each person's files are private to their account and are never shown to anyone else. Even so, students sometimes upload material that belongs to someone else, such as pages from a textbook, a course pack, an instructor's slides or problem sets, or a solutions manual. Binder's Terms of Service and Acceptable Use Policy say users may upload only what they have the right to keep and study from. This policy is how a rights holder complains.

1. Who can complain, and who to tell

Publishers, authors, instructors, universities and anyone else who owns or controls the rights in a work can send a notice.

Send notices to Owen Homick at owen@homick.com, with the subject "Copyright notice".

2. What a notice must contain

Under section 41.25 of the Canadian Copyright Act, a notice of claimed infringement must be in writing, in the form of an electronic communication, and must:

  1. state your name and address;
  2. identify the work that you say has been infringed;
  3. state your interest or right in that work (for example, that you are the owner or an exclusive licensee);
  4. give the location data for the electronic location where the work is said to be infringed. Binder's files are private, so please identify the Binder account (an email address, if you know it) and describe the file, for example by title, edition, pages and how you know it is there;
  5. state the infringement you claim; and
  6. state the date and time of the alleged infringement.

A notice must not contain an offer to settle, a demand or request for payment, or a request for personal information, or a link to one. A notice with those in it does not meet the Act's requirements, and I may treat it as incomplete.

You may write your notice in English or in French. A complete notice makes it far easier for me to act quickly. If a notice is incomplete, I will tell you what is missing where I can.

3. What I do when I get a complete notice

  • I forward the notice electronically to the account holder, as soon as feasible, and I tell you that I have done so (or why I could not).
  • I keep a record that identifies the account holder, for six months from the day I receive the notice, or for one year if you start court proceedings and tell me within those six months.
  • If the notice is complete and the claim looks credible, I may also disable access to the file while the complaint is looked into. Canadian law does not require this, and a notice is not proof. I do it to protect both of you. A court order will also be followed.

I do not give out an account holder's identity to a claimant without a court order or another lawful requirement, apart from what the law obliges me to keep on record.

4. If it is your file that was complained about

You will get an email saying what was claimed. You can reply to me within 14 days to say that you own the material, that you have permission, that you believe your use is fair dealing for private study, or that the complaint is a mistake. I will pass your reply to the claimant if you ask me to. I do not decide who is right. If it cannot be settled, it is between you and the claimant, and I will follow any court order.

Do not re-upload a file that was disabled after a complaint unless you have the right to.

5. Repeat infringers

Accounts of people who repeatedly upload material that they have no right to will be ended. As a rule, I will end an account after three complete, unresolved notices about different uploads within any 12 months. I may end an account sooner for a serious case, such as uploading a whole commercial textbook, a file from which copy protection was removed, an instructor-only solutions manual or test bank, or pirated material.

6. Claims made in bad faith

Do not send a notice that you know is false. A person who knowingly misrepresents that material is infringing can be responsible for the harm that causes, and I may stop acting on notices from that sender.

7. Notices under United States law

If your notice is made under the United States Digital Millennium Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. section 512(c)(3), it must also include a physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act for the owner; identification of the work and of the material and where to find it; your contact details; a statement that you believe in good faith that the use is not authorized; and a statement, made under penalty of perjury, that the notice is accurate and that you are authorized to act for the owner.

A person whose file was removed after such a notice can send a counter-notice that includes: a signature; identification of the material and where it was before it was removed; a statement under penalty of perjury that they believe in good faith it was removed by mistake or misidentification; their name, address and phone number; and a statement that they consent to the jurisdiction of the federal court for their address (or, if outside the United States, where I can be found) and will accept service of process from the complainant. If I receive a valid counter-notice, I will send it to the complainant and may restore the material in 10 to 14 business days unless the complainant tells me they have started court action.

[TODO for Owen: this section describes the US process, but Binder can claim the US "safe harbour" only after a designated agent is registered with the US Copyright Office (copyright.gov/dmca-directory, currently a US$6 fee, renewed every 3 years). When you have registered, replace this bracket with: "Designated agent: name, postal address, phone, email." Until then, leave this bracket in place and do not describe Binder as a DMCA-registered service.]

8. Other rights

Nothing in this policy limits any right you have under the law. This policy is a description of what I do, not legal advice.