SetVenue DMCA Policy & Designated Agent Notice

Statutory basis: 17 U.S.C. § 512 (Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act / "DMCA Safe Harbor")

Last updated: 2026-05-26 Effective date: [EFFECTIVE DATE]

Plain-English Summary

SetVenue is an online marketplace where property owners (Hosts) list their venues and renters (Guests) book those venues for events and productions. To run that marketplace, SetVenue stores user-uploaded photos and videos — listing photos, inspection photos, and similar content. If you own the copyright to material that has been uploaded to SetVenue without your permission, this policy tells you how to ask us to take it down.

We follow the federal Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). To request removal, send a written notice to our Designated Agent (contact information in Section 2) that meets the legal requirements listed in Section 3 — most importantly, identifying the work, identifying where the infringing copy lives on SetVenue, and signing the notice under penalty of perjury. Before sending a notice, you must consider whether the use is a fair use under 17 U.S.C. § 107 — failing to do so may give rise to liability under § 512(f) (see Section 7 and Lenz v. Universal, 815 F.3d 1145 (9th Cir. 2016)). If your notice is valid, we will remove the material promptly and notify the user who uploaded it.

If you are the user whose content was removed and you believe the removal was a mistake, you can submit a counter-notice (Section 5). We will restore the content between 10 and 14 business days after receiving a valid counter-notice unless the original complainant sues in federal court. Users who accumulate three or more valid and uncontested takedowns in a rolling twelve-month period may have their accounts terminated under our repeat-infringer policy (Section 6).

Filing a knowingly false notice or counter-notice can expose you to damages and attorneys' fees under 17 U.S.C. § 512(f). Please consult a lawyer if you are unsure whether your claim is sound.

This summary is provided for convenience only. The numbered sections below are the operative legal text and control in any conflict.

1. Introduction & Scope

SetVenue respects the intellectual property rights of others and expects users of the Platform to do the same. This DMCA Policy ("Policy") explains how Set Venue LLC ("SetVenue," "we," "us") responds to claims of copyright infringement under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 512 ("DMCA"), and how users whose content has been removed may submit a counter-notice. This Policy is incorporated by reference into the SetVenue Terms of Service.

Scope. This Policy applies to all user-generated content hosted or served through the SetVenue Platform, including but not limited to:

• Listing photographs and videos uploaded by Hosts to describe their properties;
• Inspection photographs uploaded in connection with a Booking or property verification;
• Any other image, audio, or video content uploaded to SetVenue's storage infrastructure (currently Supabase, served via the Platform's web interface).

SetVenue operates as a passive host of user-uploaded content within the meaning of 17 U.S.C. § 512(c) ("information residing on systems or networks at direction of users"). We do not independently verify that any uploaded content is free of third-party intellectual property claims. The DMCA's notice-and-takedown framework provides a path for rights holders to request removal and for accused users to contest such removal.

Direction of users. SetVenue makes available automated systems (including AI-assisted technical screening for spam, fraud, and policy violations) to help operate the Platform. These automated systems do not direct, select, or curate content posted by users for substantive expressive purposes; users alone choose what to upload, and the automated systems do not constitute moderator-volunteer review within the meaning of Mavrix Photographs, LLC v. LiveJournal, Inc., 873 F.3d 1045 (9th Cir. 2017). All user-uploaded content remains "at the direction of users" for purposes of 17 U.S.C. § 512(c).

No monitoring obligation. Consistent with 17 U.S.C. § 512(m), SetVenue does not affirmatively monitor user-uploaded content for potential copyright infringement, and the existence of internal sorting, search, or curation tools used by SetVenue staff for non-IP purposes does not constitute monitoring within the meaning of § 512(c)(1)(A)(ii). SetVenue acts on knowledge or red flags only as required by the DMCA.

No direct financial benefit from infringing activity. SetVenue charges commission on completed Bookings as set forth in the Terms of Service. Such commissions are charged uniformly across all listings and are not directly attributable to any specific user content. Per UMG Recordings, Inc. v. Shelter Capital Partners LLC, 718 F.3d 1006 (9th Cir. 2013) and analogous case law, generally-applicable commissions do not constitute a "financial benefit directly attributable to infringing activity" under 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(1)(B), and SetVenue does not have the "right and ability to control" infringing activity within the meaning of that subsection.

Non-DMCA claims. This Policy addresses claims of copyright infringement only. Trademark infringement, right-of-publicity claims, defamation claims, and other non-copyright disputes should be directed to legal@setvenue.com and are not within the scope of this Policy or the DMCA Designated Agent.

This Policy does not constitute legal advice. If you are unsure about whether you have a valid copyright claim or counter-claim, consult an attorney before submitting a notice or counter-notice.

Section 230 reservation. SetVenue reserves all defenses and immunities available under 47 U.S.C. § 230(c)(1) with respect to non-copyright matters; § 230 does not apply to claims of infringement of intellectual property under 47 U.S.C. § 230(e)(2), and the DMCA safe harbor governs such claims.

§ 512(j) injunction scope. SetVenue's status as a § 512-compliant service provider limits the scope of injunctive relief that may be available against SetVenue per 17 U.S.C. § 512(j).

2. Designated Agent

SetVenue has designated the following agent to receive notifications of claimed copyright infringement:

Designated Agent: Joshua Feuer Title/Role: Founder Organization: Set Venue LLC d/b/a SetVenue Mailing Address: 6927 Willis Ave, Van Nuys, CA 91405 Phone: (310) 985-3334 Email: dmca@setvenue.com

This designation is registered with the U.S. Copyright Office pursuant to 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(2). SetVenue's U.S. Copyright Office Service Provider registration number is DMCA-1073022 (registered 2026-05-19, renewal due 2029-05-19). The registered record is publicly searchable in the U.S. Copyright Office DMCA Designated Agent Directory at https://www.copyright.gov/dmca-directory/. SetVenue's registration is current and renewed every three years per 37 C.F.R. § 201.38.

Maintenance commitment. SetVenue will (a) maintain a current Designated Agent registration with the U.S. Copyright Office; (b) renew the registration triennially as required by 37 C.F.R. § 201.38(d); (c) update the registration within 30 days of any material change in the agent's name, role, or contact information; and (d) preserve this Policy at /legal/dmca as the operational publication of the agent's contact information for the public. Lapse of agent registration is a known DMCA-safe-harbor risk; SetVenue's lawyer-only item list prioritizes maintenance.

3. How to Submit a DMCA Takedown Notice

To be effective under 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(3)(A), a written notification of claimed infringement must be submitted to SetVenue's Designated Agent and must include all of the following elements, which mirror the statutory text:

1. Signature — § 512(c)(3)(A)(i). 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 — § 512(c)(3)(A)(ii). Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works at a single online site are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works at that site.

3. Identification of the allegedly infringing material — § 512(c)(3)(A)(iii). 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 access to which is to be disabled, and information reasonably sufficient to permit SetVenue to locate the material. The full URL of the page(s) on SetVenue where the material appears is the most reliable method, though any identification that permits SetVenue to locate the material within a reasonable time (such as a listing ID combined with a description of the photo position) is acceptable.

4. Contact information — § 512(c)(3)(A)(iv). Information reasonably sufficient to permit SetVenue to contact the complaining party, such as an address, telephone number, and, if available, an electronic mail address at which the complaining party may be contacted. Your name is required for notice authenticity.

5. Good-faith belief statement — § 512(c)(3)(A)(v). 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. Per Lenz v. Universal Music Corp., 815 F.3d 1145 (9th Cir. 2016), this good-faith belief is a subjective standard that must include consideration of whether the use qualifies as a fair use under 17 U.S.C. § 107 before the notice is sent. The subjective good-faith belief may be defeated by willful blindness to facts indicating fair use (e.g., obvious commentary, parody, or transformative use that a reasonable rightsholder would recognize). A notice that does not reflect fair-use consideration may not be a good-faith notice.

6. Accuracy and authority statement — § 512(c)(3)(A)(vi). 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.

No registration prerequisite for notice. You do not need to have registered your copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office to send a DMCA notice. However, registration is required to file a federal lawsuit per 17 U.S.C. § 411(a) and Fourth Estate Pub. Benefit Corp. v. Wall-Street.com, LLC, 139 S. Ct. 881 (2019).

Submission methods. Notices may be sent by:

• Email (preferred): dmca@setvenue.com with the subject line "DMCA Takedown Notice."
• Postal mail: Address in §2 above, marked "DMCA Takedown Notice — Attn: Designated Agent."

Notices that do not substantially comply with the statutory requirements set forth above do not impart knowledge of infringement under Perfect 10, Inc. v. CCBill LLC, 488 F.3d 1102 (9th Cir. 2007), and may not receive a response. SetVenue may, at its discretion, request clarification or treat a non-compliant notice as a courtesy request. SetVenue's voluntary engagement with a deficient notice does not constitute waiver of the substantial-compliance requirement.

Warning. Submitting a materially false claim of infringement may expose you to civil liability, including damages, attorneys' fees, and costs under 17 U.S.C. § 512(f). See §7.

4. What Happens After a Notice

Upon receipt of a compliant DMCA takedown notice, SetVenue will act expeditiously to:

1. Remove or disable access to the identified material;
2. Notify the user who uploaded or posted the material ("Alleged Infringer") that the content has been removed and provide the Alleged Infringer with a copy of the notice. SetVenue may include the complaining party's contact information in the forwarded copy of the notice unless statutory law or a court order requires otherwise; the DMCA does not create a general right of complainant confidentiality;
3. Provide the Alleged Infringer with information about the counter-notice process described in §5;
4. Make a non-discretionary "strike" entry in the Alleged Infringer's account record under §6.

Strike rescission. If the complaining party withdraws the notice within fourteen (14) calendar days, or if the Alleged Infringer submits a valid counter-notice and the content is restored under §5, the corresponding strike entry will be removed from the Alleged Infringer's account record per §6.

SetVenue does not adjudicate copyright ownership. Removal of content pursuant to a DMCA notice does not constitute a finding that the content was infringing, and restoration pursuant to a counter-notice does not constitute a finding that it was non-infringing.

5. Counter-Notice Procedure

If you are an Alleged Infringer and you believe that the removed material was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification, you may submit a counter-notice to the Designated Agent.

Required elements. A valid counter-notice under 17 U.S.C. § 512(g)(3) must contain, in order, each of the four statutory elements:

1. Signature — § 512(g)(3)(A). Your physical or electronic signature.

2. Identification of removed material — § 512(g)(3)(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 (for example, the URL on SetVenue where it was accessible).

3. Statement under penalty of perjury — § 512(g)(3)(C). 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 of the material to be removed or disabled.

4. Contact information, consent to jurisdiction, and consent to service of process — § 512(g)(3)(D). 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 the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California (which is the judicial district in which SetVenue's principal place of business is located) or any other judicial district in which the service provider may be found, and that you will accept service of process from the person who provided notification under 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(1)(C) or an agent of such person. An electronic mail address may be provided in addition to the statutorily required contact information; while not required by § 512(g)(3)(D), an email address allows SetVenue to confirm receipt and update you on the restoration timeline.

Submit to: The Designated Agent at the address or email listed in §2, with the subject line "DMCA Counter-Notice."

What happens next. Upon receipt of a valid counter-notice, SetVenue will:

1. Forward the counter-notice to the original complaining party;
2. Inform the complaining party that SetVenue will restore the removed material not less than ten (10) and not more than fourteen (14) business days after the date of receipt of the counter-notice (per 17 U.S.C. § 512(g)(2)(C)) unless the complaining party files an action in federal court seeking a court order to restrain the Alleged Infringer from engaging in infringing activity relating to the material and provides notice of such action to SetVenue.

If SetVenue does not receive notice of such a court filing within the statutory window, SetVenue will restore the material. Restoration does not constitute a finding of non-infringement.

Successful counter-notice. A counter-notice that results in restoration of the material removes the corresponding strike entry from the Alleged Infringer's account record per §6, unless SetVenue has independent evidence of repeat-infringer status.

6. Repeat Infringer Policy

SetVenue's policy is to terminate, in appropriate circumstances and after consideration of the totality of facts, the accounts of users who have been the subject of multiple valid DMCA takedown notices within the meaning of 17 U.S.C. § 512(i)(1)(A). This policy is required under 17 U.S.C. § 512(i)(1)(A) and is reasonably implemented as required by BMG Rights Mgmt. (US) LLC v. Cox Communications, Inc., 881 F.3d 293 (4th Cir. 2018).

"Repeat infringer" definition. For purposes of this Policy, a repeat infringer is a user who has had three (3) or more pieces of content removed pursuant to valid and uncontested DMCA notices within any rolling 12-month period, or a user who has demonstrated a pattern of uploading content that violates third-party intellectual property rights.

"Valid and uncontested" definition. A notice is "valid and uncontested" for purposes of strike-counting if (a) the notice meets the statutory requirements in §3, (b) the notice has not been withdrawn by the complaining party within fourteen (14) calendar days of submission, (c) the Alleged Infringer has not submitted a valid counter-notice that resulted in restoration of the content, and (d) the Alleged Infringer has not produced facially credible documentary evidence of authorization or fair use (such as a license, assignment, or written permission from the rightsholder) sufficient for SetVenue, in its sole and good-faith discretion, to remove the strike. SetVenue does not adjudicate the underlying copyright dispute and reserves the right to retain the strike pending resolution if the evidence is contested by the complainant. Strikes corresponding to withdrawn notices or successful counter-notices are not counted.

Cross-account aggregation. Where SetVenue has reasonable evidence that a user has created multiple accounts to evade the repeat-infringer policy (per BMG Rights Mgmt. (US) LLC v. Cox Communications, Inc., 881 F.3d 293 (4th Cir. 2018)), strikes accrued on related accounts may be aggregated against the underlying user identity.

Enforcement of this policy does not require a court finding of infringement. SetVenue may take into account the totality of circumstances, including whether counter-notices were filed, whether notices appeared retaliatory or abusive, and the nature of the content involved.

Strike record retention. SetVenue retains strike records for a minimum of 12 months after the strike date, or longer if required by law or for litigation hold. Records are maintained for the rolling 12-month window during which strikes accrue and may be retained beyond that period in support of § 512(i) enforcement, § 512(f) defense, or litigation preservation obligations.

This repeat-infringer policy is a required element of the DMCA safe harbor framework under 17 U.S.C. § 512(i)(1)(A).

The "three or more strikes within a rolling 12-month period" threshold reflects industry standard for marketplaces and digital services and is intended to satisfy the "appropriate circumstances" requirement under 17 U.S.C. § 512(i)(1)(A). The threshold may be lowered (for example, to two strikes) in cases involving particularly egregious conduct, repeat counter-notices that turn out to be themselves false under § 512(f), or evidence of pattern infringement across multiple accounts.

7. False Claims and Misrepresentation

17 U.S.C. § 512(f) provides:

"Any person who knowingly materially misrepresents under [§ 512] — (1) that material or activity is infringing, or (2) that material or activity was removed or disabled by mistake or misidentification, shall be liable for any damages, including costs and attorneys' fees, incurred by the alleged infringer, by any copyright owner or copyright owner's authorized licensee, or by a service provider, who is injured by such misrepresentation, as the result of the service provider relying upon such misrepresentation in removing or disabling access to the material or activity claimed to be infringing, or in replacing the removed material or ceasing to disable access to it."

Before submitting a notice or counter-notice, ensure that the factual and legal basis for your claim is sound, including (where applicable) consideration of fair use under 17 U.S.C. § 107 (Lenz v. Universal Music Corp., 815 F.3d 1145 (9th Cir. 2016)). The penalty-of-perjury statement in each submission carries legal consequences.

SetVenue's recovery for fraudulent notice. Where SetVenue incurs damages, attorneys' fees, or other costs as a result of relying on a knowingly false notice or counter-notice, SetVenue reserves the right to pursue § 512(f) recovery against the misrepresenting party.

8. Modifications and Contact

SetVenue may modify this Policy at any time. Changes will be posted to the Platform at /legal/dmca with an updated effective date. Continued use of the Platform following any modification constitutes acceptance of the revised Policy.

For questions about this Policy or the DMCA process generally, contact:

• Email: dmca@setvenue.com
• Postal mail: Designated Agent address in §2

For non-copyright legal inquiries, use legal@setvenue.com. For general support, use support@setvenue.com.

V7.3.2 Audit-Fix Pass Summary (informational, not contractual)

Audit-fix pass 2026-05-26 (over v5/V7.3): Applied senior-counsel 33-finding audit. P0 placeholder leak in §2 removed (Finding 1.1). All P1 items addressed: §3 elements conformed verbatim to 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(3)(A)(i)-(vi) (Finding 2.1); §5 counter-notice elements restructured in statutory order with foreign-address jurisdiction conformed to § 512(g)(3)(D) (Findings 2.2, 2.3, 2.4); §6 repeat-infringer policy strengthened to affirmative "SetVenue's policy is to terminate" framing per BMG v. Cox (Finding 2.5); §1 Mavrix-defensive recital added on AI-assisted screening (Finding 2.6); §3.5 Lenz willful-blindness note added (Finding 2.10). All P2 items addressed: USCO DMCA-1073022 cited in §2 body (Finding 1.2); § 512(m) no-monitoring recital added in §1 (Finding 3.5); § 512(c)(1)(B) financial-benefit reservation added in §1 (Finding 2.7); non-DMCA routing line added in §1 (Finding 2.8); § 411 informational note added in §3 (Finding 2.9); Perfect 10 v. CCBill substantial-compliance drafting refined in §3 (Finding 3.3); § 512(j) injunction-scope recital added in §1 (Finding 3.7); §6.1 softened from factual-infringer finding (Finding 1.5); §6.4(d) "dispositive" adjudicator-tension softened (Finding X.4); strike-retention paragraph added (Finding X.3); Plain-English Summary aligned with "uncontested" condition (Finding 1.9); §6 "14 days" conformed to "fourteen (14) calendar days" (Finding 1.8).

Carry-over hardenings (v4 over v3)

1. §1 Section 230(e)(2) scope-of-DMCA-safe-harbor recital.
2. §1 § 512(c) "information residing... at direction of users" framing tightened.
3. §2 maintenance commitment and triennial-renewal undertaking.
4. §3.5 Lenz v. Universal fair-use-consideration requirement explicit.
5. §4 strike rescission for withdrawn/counter-noticed notices.
6. §6 "valid and uncontested" strike definition (resists Mavrix Photographs v. LiveJournal attack).
7. §6 cross-account aggregation (BMG v. Cox doctrine).
8. §7 SetVenue's own § 512(f) recovery right.