Copyright & Takedown

Punk Aficionado respects the people who make the art. If your work is on this site and you want it gone, you don't need a lawyer and you don't need to threaten us — just email us and we'll take it down. This page explains the formal process too, because the law requires it.

1. How we use other people's work

We publish reviews, history, and news about punk rock. Doing that involves album covers, band photos, gig flyers, and logos. Those belong to their creators, labels, and rights holders — not to us. We use them editorially, at modest resolution, alongside commentary and criticism, which we believe is fair use under 17 U.S.C. §107. We never claim ownership of anyone else's artwork, and we credit creators wherever we can identify them.

If you'd rather your work weren't here regardless, that's your call to make and we'll honor it.

2. Filing a DMCA takedown notice

If you believe material on punkaficionado.com infringes a copyright you own or represent, send a written notice to our designated agent (§4) including all of the following, as required by 17 U.S.C. §512(c)(3):

1. A physical or electronic signature of the copyright owner or a person authorized to act on their behalf.
2. Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed — or, if multiple works, a representative list.
3. Identification of the material you say is infringing, with enough detail for us to find it — a direct URL is best.
4. Your contact information: name, mailing address, telephone number, and email address.
5. A statement that you have a good-faith belief that the use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.
6. A statement that the information in the notice is accurate, and — under penalty of perjury — that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on their behalf.

Incomplete notices may delay us. Note that under 17 U.S.C. §512(f), knowingly making a material misrepresentation that content is infringing can make you liable for damages, including costs and legal fees.

3. What we do when we get one

• We remove or disable access to the material promptly, usually within 48 hours.
• We notify whoever submitted it, if it came from a reader submission, and pass along your notice.
• We keep a record of the notice and our response.

4. Designated agent

5. Counter-notice

If your material was removed and you believe that was a mistake or a misidentification, you may send a counter-notice to the same address containing:

1. Your physical or electronic signature.
2. Identification of the material that was removed and where it appeared before removal.
3. A statement under penalty of perjury that you have a good-faith belief the material was removed 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 your address (or, if outside the US, any district in which we may be found), and that you will accept service of process from the party who filed the original notice.

If we receive a valid counter-notice, we may restore the material in 10–14 business days unless the original complainant files a court action.

6. Repeat infringers

We will refuse further submissions from, and may permanently block, anyone who repeatedly sends us material that infringes other people's copyrights.

7. Trademarks and publicity rights

Band names and logos are the trademarks of their owners; we use them to refer to the bands themselves, which is nominative fair use. If you're a rights holder with a trademark or right-of-publicity concern — including a photo of you that you'd rather not have up — use the same address and we'll deal with it the same way.

8. Music and audio

Audio on the site is either licensed for our use, royalty-free, Creative Commons, or provided by the artist. We stream via official embeds (like Spotify) rather than hosting other people's recordings. If you find audio here that shouldn't be, tell us and it comes down immediately.

9. Contact