Home Telephone Company, Inc., ("HTC") has a committed policy to honor the laws of the United States, including copyright laws. HTC expects all customers and visitors to do the same. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 ("DMCA") provides several remedies for owners of copyrighted material who believe that their rights have been infringed on the Internet. Pursuant to the DMCA, when HTC receives a properly filed complaint satisfying the requirements of the DMCA, HTC will remove or block access to the allegedly infringing material. If a customer of HTC believes that a notice of copyright infringement has been improperly filed, the customer may submit a counter-notification to HTC.

Home Telephone Company, Inc. will not be a party to disputes over alleged copyright infringement.

This information is not to be construed as legal advice.

If you believe that a Web page or Web site hosted by HTC is violating your rights under U.S. copyright law, you may file a complaint of such claimed infringement with the HTC designated agent in the manner described below.

By Telephone: 843-761-9101

By Email: denny.thompson@hometelco.com

For your complaint to be valid under the DMCA and for action to be taken by HTC, the complainant must provide the following information when forwarding an alleged infringement notice:

a. A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner;

b. Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed;

c. Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of the infringing activity and that is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled as well as information reasonably sufficient to permit HTC to locate the material;

d. Information reasonably sufficient to permit the service provider to contact the complaining party, such as an address, telephone number, and, if available, an electronic mail address;

e. A statement that the complaining party has a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or law; and,

f. A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

(For more details on the information required for valid notification, see 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(3).)

You should be aware that, under the DMCA, claimants who make misrepresentations concerning copyright infringement may be liable for damages incurred as a result of the removal or blocking of the material, court costs, and attorneys fees.

If a notice of copyright infringement has been lodged against you, you may file a counter-notification with HTC 's designated agent at the address listed above. Such counter-notification must contain the following information:

a. Physical or electronic signature;

b. Identification of the material that has been removed or to which access has been disabled and the location at which the material appeared before it was removed or access to it was disabled;

c. A statement under penalty of perjury that the Member has a good faith belief that the material was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification; and,

d. Your name, address, and telephone number, and a statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of the federal district court for the federal district in which you are located, and that you will accept service of process from the complainant.

If HTC receives a valid counter-notification, the DMCA provides that the removed material will be restored, or access re-enabled.

Last Updated: March 8, 2005