Copyright Policy

Shades of Gray respects the intellectual property rights of others. Shades of Gray will respond to allegations of copyright infringement in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

The DMCA provides a process for a copyright owner to notify an online service provider when the owner’s copyrighted material has been posted without authorization. If Shades of Gray receives such a notice, it will respond expeditiously to remove, or disable access to, the material that is claimed to be infringing. Shades of Gray will also take reasonable steps promptly to notify the subscriber who posted the allegedly infringing material that Shades of Gray has removed or disabled access to the material. If the subscriber has a good-faith belief that the material in question does not infringe copyright, the subscriber may then submit a counter-notification to Shades of Gray requesting that the material be replaced. If Shades of Gray receives a counter- notification, it will replace the removed material unless it first receives notice from the person who submitted the initial notification that that person has filed an action seeking a court order to restrain the subscriber from engaging in infringing activity relating to the copyrighted material in question.

If you believe that copyright in your work has been infringed on the Shades of Gray website and wish Shades of Gray to remove the work in accordance with the DMCA, you must notify Shades of Gray in writing. The notification must:

  1. Identify the work(s) that you claim is (are) the subject of copyright infringement.
  2. Describe where the allegedly infringing work is located on the Shades of Gray site, so that we can find it.
  3. State that you have a good-faith belief that the use of the work about which you are complaining is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.
  4. State, under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notification is accurate, and that you are the copyright owner or are authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner.
  5. Provide contact information that is reasonably sufficient to allow Shades of Gray to contact you about the notification, such as an address, telephone number and email address.
  6. Be signed by you, either physically or electronically.

If you have a good-faith believe that Shades of Gray has removed or disabled access to material that you posted as a result of mistake or misidentification, and wish Shades of Gray to replace the material, you must counter-notify Shades of Gray in writing. The counter-notification must:

  1. Identify the material that has been removed and the location where it appeared before it was removed.
  2. State, 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.
  3. Provide your name, address, telephone number and email address.
  4. State that you consent to the jurisdiction of Federal District Court for the judicial district in which the physical address provided in # 4 is located (or, if the physical address is outside the United States, for San Francisco, California).
  5. State that you will accept service of process from the person who provided notification to Shades of Gray of the alleged infringement, or from an agent of that person.
  6. Be signed by you, either physically or electronically.

Shades of Gray’s agent for notice of claims of copyright infringement can be reached by mail, phone, or email as listed on our Contact page.

Privacy notice: Please be aware that Shades of Gray may provide copies of notices and counter-notices to the parties to the dispute, or to third parties, in Shades of Gray’s discretion or as required by law. Shades of Gray’s Privacy Policy does not protect your personal information provided in connection with these notices and counter-notices.