MenuPlatformStudioCratePricingAbout
All legal documents
Legal

DMCA & Copyright Policy

Effective July 10, 2026 · Version dmca-2026-07-v1

SoundMint — DMCA & Copyright Policy

Effective Date: July 10, 2026

This DMCA & Copyright Policy (this "Policy") is issued by Bradley Jackson, the operator of the SoundMint platform, doing business as SoundMint ("SoundMint," "we," "us," or "our"), and governs how we respond to claims of copyright infringement on the SoundMint website, applications, and services located at https://soundmint.com (collectively, the "Services").

Bradley Jackson is currently a sole proprietorship. SoundMint may assign, transfer, or novate this Policy and the rights and obligations described in it to a successor entity (for example, a limited liability company) upon notice and without further consent. References to "SoundMint" include any such successor operator.

SoundMint respects the intellectual property rights of others and expects every user of the Services to do the same. This Policy describes the procedures we follow under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 512 (the "DMCA"), including our notice-and-takedown process, our counter-notification process, and our policy of terminating the accounts of repeat infringers. It is intended to support SoundMint's eligibility for the safe-harbor protections of the DMCA and to allocate responsibility for infringing content to the user who supplied it.

1. Purpose and Scope

1.1 SoundMint operates a music-ownership platform and marketplace on which:

  • Creators (sellers) upload, organize, and offer music and related digital goods — including Vault subscriptions, sound packs, and beat licenses — and mint or offer onchain collector and ownership tokens; and
  • Fans (buyers) discover, purchase, collect, and access that content.

1.2 This Policy applies to all Creators, Fans, visitors, and other users of the Services (each, a "User"). It supplements, and is incorporated by reference into, SoundMint's Terms of Service, Seller Agreement, and Acceptable-Use / Prohibited-Use Policy. Capitalized terms not defined here have the meanings given in those documents.

1.3 This Policy addresses copyright complaints under the DMCA. Complaints about trademarks, rights of publicity, defamation, or other matters are handled under separate processes; contact hello@soundmint.com.

2. Definitions

  • "Complaining Party" — a copyright owner, or a person authorized to act on behalf of a copyright owner, who submits a Takedown Notice.
  • "Content" — any audio file, sound pack, beat, artwork, text, metadata, token, or other material made available on or through the Services.
  • "Counter-Notification" — a written notice submitted under Section 6 by a User whose Content was removed or disabled, requesting its restoration.
  • "Designated Agent" — the agent identified in Section 3 to receive Takedown Notices and Counter-Notifications.
  • "Strike" — a recorded instance of alleged infringement attributed to a User's account under Section 7.
  • "Takedown Notice" — a written notice of claimed copyright infringement that substantially complies with 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(3), as described in Section 4.
  • "Watermark Match" — a determination, based on SoundMint's audio-watermark detection and provenance systems, that Content offered by one Creator contains or is derived from the watermarked or provenance-sealed work of another SoundMint Creator or rights holder.

3. Designated Copyright Agent

3.1 SoundMint has designated the following agent to receive notifications of claimed copyright infringement (Takedown Notices) and Counter-Notifications under the DMCA:

DMCA Designated Agent
Attn:    Bradley Jackson
SoundMint / Bradley Jackson
Address: Mailing address pending U.S. Copyright Office designated-agent registration — email is the preferred and fastest channel
Email:   hello@soundmint.com (subject line: "DMCA Notice")

3.2 Registration status. SoundMint's registration of the Designated Agent with the U.S. Copyright Office DMCA Designated Agent Directory (dmca.copyright.gov) is in progress. This page will be updated with the registered agent details, including the registered mailing address, when the registration is complete. In the meantime, Takedown Notices and Counter-Notifications sent by email to the address above will be received and acted on under this Policy.

3.3 The Designated Agent's contact information is also posted on the Services in a location accessible to the public, as required by 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(2).

4. Submitting a Takedown Notice

4.1 Required elements. To be effective under 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(3)(A), a Takedown Notice must be a written communication provided to the Designated Agent that includes substantially all of the following:

  1. A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.
  2. Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works at a single online location are covered by a single notice, a representative list of such works.
  3. Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity and that is to be removed or to which access is to be disabled, and information reasonably sufficient to permit SoundMint to locate the material — for example, the URL, listing, track, pack, or token page on the Services.
  4. Information reasonably sufficient to permit SoundMint to contact the Complaining Party, such as an address, telephone number, and, if available, an email address.
  5. 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 the law.
  6. 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.

4.2 Consider fair use and authorization first. Before submitting a Takedown Notice, the Complaining Party should consider whether the identified use is authorized by the copyright owner or the law, including whether it constitutes fair use. Submitting a notice without such good-faith consideration may expose the Complaining Party to liability under Section 9.

4.3 How to submit. Send Takedown Notices to the Designated Agent at hello@soundmint.com (subject line: "DMCA Notice") (preferred) or the mailing address in Section 3. Notices that do not substantially comply with the elements above may not be actionable, but SoundMint may, in its discretion, contact the sender to seek the missing information, and may still act on any facially credible report of infringement.

5. Our Takedown Process and Timeline

5.1 Expeditious removal. Upon receipt of a Takedown Notice that substantially complies with Section 4, SoundMint will expeditiously remove or disable access to the identified Content. Our operational target is to act within one to three (1–3) business days of receipt, though the DMCA standard is "expeditious" rather than a fixed period.

5.2 Actions we may take. In connection with a takedown, SoundMint may, as applicable:

  • remove or disable access to the identified listing, track, pack, file, or token page;
  • place a hold on payouts and/or a reserve on funds associated with sales of the affected Content, and, where appropriate, reverse transfers and issue buyer refunds, in accordance with the Seller Agreement and Refund Policy (see Section 10);
  • record a Strike against the responsible User's account under Section 7;
  • notify the responsible User as described below; and
  • take any additional action permitted by the Terms of Service, Seller Agreement, or Acceptable-Use / Prohibited-Use Policy.

5.3 Notice to the affected User. SoundMint will make reasonable efforts to notify the User whose Content was removed or disabled, provide a copy of or summary of the Takedown Notice (as permitted by law), and inform the User of the Counter-Notification process in Section 6.

5.4 No obligation to monitor. SoundMint has no general obligation to monitor Content or to affirmatively seek facts indicating infringing activity. Our watermark detection, provenance, and other tools are used at our discretion and do not create any such obligation.

6. Counter-Notification

6.1 Who may file. If your Content was removed or disabled and you believe in good faith that the removal was the result of mistake or misidentification, you may submit a Counter-Notification to the Designated Agent.

6.2 Required elements. To be effective under 17 U.S.C. § 512(g)(3), a Counter-Notification must be a written communication provided to the Designated Agent that includes substantially all of the following:

  1. Your physical or electronic signature.
  2. Identification of the material that was removed or to which access was disabled, and the location at which the material appeared before it was removed or disabled.
  3. 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.
  4. Your name, 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, for any judicial district in which SoundMint may be found), and that you will accept service of process from the Complaining Party (or its agent).

6.3 What happens next — the restoration window. If SoundMint receives a compliant Counter-Notification, we will promptly forward a copy to the Complaining Party and inform that party that we will restore the removed Content or cease disabling access to it in not less than ten (10), nor more than fourteen (14), business days following our receipt of the Counter-Notification — unless the Designated Agent first receives notice from the Complaining Party that it has filed a court action seeking a court order to restrain the User from engaging in infringing activity relating to the Content. If such notice of suit is received, SoundMint will not restore the Content.

6.4 Practical limits on restoration. Some Content cannot be technically restored in the ordinary sense — for example, a digital good already delivered to a buyer's device, or an onchain token that has already been minted and cannot be un-minted. In such cases, "restoration" means re-enabling the affected listing or access on the Services to the extent technically feasible; it does not require SoundMint to recover delivered files, reverse completed onchain transactions, or reinstate any funds already refunded or clawed back. Filing a Counter-Notification does not by itself release any related payout hold or reserve, which is governed by Section 10 and the Seller Agreement.

6.5 Submitting a Counter-Notification does not remove any Strike unless and until the removal is finally determined to have been a mistake or misidentification, or the Content is restored under Section 6.3 without a subsequent court action, as described in Section 7.

7. Repeat-Infringer Policy

7.1 Policy. In accordance with 17 U.S.C. § 512(i), SoundMint has adopted and will reasonably implement, and inform Users of, a policy providing for the termination in appropriate circumstances of Users who are repeat infringers. SoundMint enforces this policy in practice — it is not merely a written statement — and maintains records of Takedown Notices, Strikes, and terminations to support consistent enforcement.

7.2 Strikes. A Strike is recorded against a User's account when SoundMint receives a Takedown Notice that substantially complies with Section 4 and is attributable to that User's Content, except that a Strike will not be recorded, or will be rescinded, where:

  • the Complaining Party withdraws or retracts the Takedown Notice;
  • the User submits a compliant Counter-Notification and the Content is restored under Section 6.3 without the Complaining Party filing a court action; or
  • SoundMint determines, in its reasonable discretion, that the Takedown Notice was invalid, abusive, or the result of mistake or misidentification.

Where a single Takedown Notice identifies numerous, clearly infringing works, SoundMint may, in its discretion, record more than one Strike or proceed directly to termination under Section 8.

7.3 Three-strike termination. A User who accumulates three (3) Strikes will have their account terminated. Termination includes closing the account, removing the User's listings, disabling access to the Services, and — for Creator accounts — rejecting the associated payments/connected account and applying the payout, reserve, offset, and reversal remedies described in Section 10 and the Seller Agreement.

7.4 Blocking re-onboarding. A User terminated as a repeat infringer is prohibited from creating or using any new or existing account on the Services. To enforce this, SoundMint retains and may use identifiers reasonably necessary to identify the terminated User — which may include verified legal identity (including identity information obtained through payment onboarding / KYC), email addresses, payment instruments, device and network signals, wallet addresses, and audio-watermark registry keys — to detect and block re-onboarding by the same person or their affiliates. Any attempt to circumvent a termination (including by using a different name, email, wallet, or payment method) is itself grounds for immediate termination.

7.5 "Appropriate circumstances." SoundMint reserves discretion, consistent with § 512(i), to determine when circumstances warrant termination, and may terminate a User with fewer than three Strikes, or immediately, under Section 8. SoundMint also reserves the right not to record a Strike or terminate where doing so would be inequitable — for example, where a notice is facially deficient or abusive — provided that any such discretion is exercised consistently and does not amount to a failure to reasonably implement this policy.

8. Immediate Termination for Willful or Obvious Infringement

8.1 Notwithstanding the three-strike process in Section 7, SoundMint may immediately suspend or terminate a User's account, remove their Content, and apply the payout, reserve, and reversal remedies in Section 10, without prior Strikes, where SoundMint reasonably determines that the User has engaged in willful, blatant, or obvious copyright infringement, including:

  • offering for sale or distribution commercially released master recordings or compositions that the User plainly does not own or control;
  • an audio Watermark Match indicating that the User's Content contains, reproduces, or is derived from the watermarked or provenance-sealed work of another SoundMint Creator or rights holder;
  • a court or arbitral determination of infringement, or an admission of infringement; or
  • repeated or coordinated attempts to circumvent this Policy, a prior termination, or SoundMint's rights-attestation and provenance controls.

8.2 Because a Watermark Match implicates the rights of another SoundMint Creator, SoundMint may treat it as both a basis for immediate termination of the infringing account and as evidence in support of the affected Creator's rights. Before terminating an account or reversing funds on the basis of a Watermark Match, SoundMint will conduct human review to confirm the match; SoundMint may, however, provisionally remove or disable access to the matched Content pending that review.

9. Misrepresentation — 17 U.S.C. § 512(f)

9.1 Under Section 512(f) of the DMCA, any person who knowingly materially misrepresents (a) that Content is infringing, in a Takedown Notice, or (b) that Content was removed or disabled by mistake or misidentification, in a Counter-Notification, may be liable for damages, including costs and attorneys' fees, incurred by the alleged infringer, the copyright owner or its licensee, or SoundMint, as a result of SoundMint's reliance on the misrepresentation.

9.2 Both Takedown Notices and Counter-Notifications are submitted under penalty of perjury as to the statements the DMCA requires. Do not make a false or bad-faith claim. If you are unsure whether Content infringes your rights, or whether its removal was a mistake, consult an attorney before submitting.

10. Interaction with Rights Attestation, Payout Holds, and Seller Liability

10.1 Rights attestation. Before offering Content for sale, every Creator must accept a rights attestation representing and warranting that the Creator owns or controls all rights necessary to sell the Content — including masters, compositions, and any samples, which must be fully cleared — and that the Content does not infringe any third party's rights. A Takedown Notice, Strike, Watermark Match, or infringement determination establishing the contrary is a breach of that attestation and of the Seller Agreement.

10.2 Payout holds, reserves, reversals, and refunds. When Content is the subject of a Takedown Notice, Watermark Match, or infringement determination, SoundMint may, consistent with the Seller Agreement and Refund Policy: hold or delay payouts, impose or increase a reserve, reverse transfers, offset amounts against the Creator's future earnings, refund affected buyers, and pursue recovery of any resulting refunds, chargebacks, fees, fines, or losses directly from the Creator. These remedies may be applied independently of, and are not suspended by, the filing of a Counter-Notification.

10.3 Indemnification. The Creator remains liable for, and indemnifies SoundMint and Bradley Jackson against, all refunds, chargebacks, fees, fines, losses, and third-party claims (including copyright-infringement claims) arising from the Creator's Content, as set out in the Seller Agreement. Nothing in this Policy limits those obligations.

10.4 No waiver. Nothing in this Policy limits any other right or remedy available to SoundMint under the Terms of Service, Seller Agreement, Acceptable-Use / Prohibited-Use Policy, or applicable law, including the right to remove Content or terminate accounts for any breach.

11. Standard Technical Measures

SoundMint accommodates, and does not interfere with, standard technical measures used by copyright owners to identify or protect their works, as contemplated by 17 U.S.C. § 512(i)(1)(B), where such measures have been developed pursuant to a broad consensus of copyright owners and service providers, are available on reasonable and nondiscriminatory terms, and do not impose substantial costs or burdens on the Services.

12. Changes to This Policy

SoundMint may update this Policy from time to time. Material changes will be indicated by updating the Effective Date above and, where appropriate, by additional notice through the Services. Continued use of the Services after a change takes effect constitutes acceptance of the updated Policy.

13. Contact

  • Copyright / DMCA matters (Takedown Notices and Counter-Notifications): Bradley Jackson, hello@soundmint.com (subject line: "DMCA Notice"), Mailing address pending U.S. Copyright Office designated-agent registration — email is the preferred and fastest channel
  • General support: hello@soundmint.com

This Policy is governed by the laws of the State of Michigan, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules, except where the DMCA or other federal law controls. The jurisdictional consent in a Counter-Notification (Section 6.2) is required by the DMCA and applies to disputes arising from that Counter-Notification; it does not modify any dispute-resolution or arbitration provision in the Terms of Service.

Related policies