Terms of service
Contents
These terms apply when you engage ClearClaim to work on a case. Please read them before submitting one.
1. About these terms
ClearClaim is operated by ClearClaim IP Enforcement, run by Matthew Hitchman and Tristan Joyce, of 6 Royal Quay, Liverpool L3 4EX, United Kingdom. In these terms "we" and "us" mean ClearClaim IP Enforcement, and "you" means the client.
Submitting the case form is an enquiry, not a contract. A contract forms only when we confirm in writing that we are taking the case on and you accept the quoted fee.
2. We are not a law firm
This matters, so it is near the top. ClearClaim is a copyright enforcement and takedown service. We are not a law firm, we are not regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, and nothing we provide is legal advice. Where a matter needs legal advice or representation, you should instruct a qualified solicitor, and we will say so if we think you have reached that point.
What we do is prepare and submit notices, appeals and counter-notifications through platforms' own processes, acting as your authorised representative where you appoint us.
3. What the service covers
- Preparing and filing takedown notices with platforms and hosts.
- Seeking removal or retraction of copyright strikes and claims.
- Preparing appeals against terminations and, where appropriate, counter-notifications.
- Monitoring for reuploads where you have engaged us for ongoing protection.
We never ask for your account passwords or login details, and you should not send them to us or to anyone else offering a similar service.
4. Your responsibilities
By instructing us you confirm that:
- you own the rights in the material concerned, or are authorised by the rights holder to act;
- the information you give us is accurate and complete, including anything that weakens your position;
- you will tell us promptly if circumstances change, for example if the other side contacts you directly.
Notices are made under penalty of perjury. A takedown notice or counter-notification includes a sworn statement. If you instruct us on the basis of information that turns out to be false, you may face legal consequences, and you are responsible for any loss that results. We rely on what you tell us.
5. Quotes and payment
- YouTube strike removal is charged at a flat £100 per video.
- All other work is quoted per case, and confirmed with you before anything begins.
- Ongoing protection is a monthly retainer, scoped to your catalogue.
- Accepted payment methods are Bitcoin, Litecoin, or card on request. Payment is due in full before work starts. On larger cases we may agree 50% up front and the balance on completion..
- Prices are in pounds sterling. We are not VAT registered, so no VAT is charged and prices are the total payable.
6. Refund guarantee
If we cannot complete your case, you get your money back. That is the whole principle, and the detail below exists so that neither of us has to argue about what it means.
What counts as not completed
A case is not completed where the outcome you paid for was not achieved. For a strike removal that means the strike is still on the channel. For a takedown it means the content is still up. For an appeal it means the account, bot or listing was not reinstated.
When we call it
We will not sit on a case indefinitely. If there has been no movement after 30 days from filing, we will tell you, and you can take the refund or ask us to keep pushing. If you ask us to keep going, the refund stays available; it does not expire because you let us continue.
How much, and how quickly
A full refund of the fees paid for that case. Where a case covers several videos or items and some succeeded, the refund covers the ones that did not, charged at the same rate they were quoted at. Refunds are paid within 5 to 14 working days of being agreed, by the same method you paid. Crypto refunds are usually at the faster end of that range; card refunds also depend on your bank's own processing time.
What is not covered
The guarantee does not apply where:
- the information you gave us was inaccurate or incomplete in a way that affected the case, including about who owns the rights;
- you withdrew instructions, or told us to stop, before the case had run its course;
- you contacted the other side or the platform directly in a way that undercut the filing, without telling us;
- the outcome was achieved and then reversed by something outside our control after we completed the work, for example you uploaded the same material again;
- the case was completed but you are unhappy with how long it took. Timescales are estimates, as set out in section 7.
Where we decline to continue
If we stop work for one of the reasons in section 8, we refund the portion not yet worked. If we stop because you gave us false information, we do not.
The point of this clause. You should not be out of pocket for work that did not deliver. Equally, the guarantee is not a way to get free work by withdrawing halfway or by giving us a case built on information that was never accurate.
Separately from anything we offer voluntarily, if you are a consumer rather than a business you may have statutory cancellation rights under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013. [TO DECIDE — most ClearClaim clients are businesses, but individual creators may count as consumers. If you take consumer clients you must give a 14-day cancellation right and get their express request to start sooner.]
7. Outcomes and timescales
We will tell you honestly what we think a case's prospects are before you pay, and we would rather turn work away than take money for something unlikely to succeed. But platforms make the final decisions, not us. We cannot guarantee any particular outcome, and timescales depend on each platform's own review queues.
Any timescale we give is an estimate based on experience, not a contractual commitment.
8. Conflicts, and work we will not take
Who we act for
Copyright belongs to whoever created the work, and that does not change according to what industry the owner is in. We act for rights holders on any side of a dispute, including publishers, studios, independent creators and businesses whose own material is copied.
Conflicts
We will not act against a client we already represent, and we will not accept instructions that conflict with an existing client's interests. Where a request would put us on both sides of the same dispute, we decline it and tell you that is the reason, without disclosing who the other party is.
If a conflict only becomes apparent after we have started, we will stop work on the affected case, tell you promptly, and refund the portion not yet worked.
Other work we will not take
We may also decline or stop work, without obligation to explain in detail, where:
- you do not hold the rights you claim to hold;
- the request appears intended to silence criticism, journalism, or lawful commentary rather than to protect genuine rights;
- the request targets an individual in a way that looks like harassment;
- proceeding would require us to make a statement we believe to be untrue;
- the work is unlawful, or would put us in breach of a platform's terms.
Where we stop for these reasons after taking payment, we will refund the unworked portion.
9. Confidentiality
We treat your case as confidential. We will not name you publicly, in a case study, or in a review, without your agreement. Where a filing itself requires identifying the rights holder, we will tell you before submitting it.
How we handle your personal information is set out in our privacy notice.
10. Liability
Nothing in these terms limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud, or for anything else that cannot lawfully be limited.
Subject to that, our total liability arising from a case is limited to the fees you paid us for that case. We are not liable for indirect or consequential loss, including lost revenue, lost views, or loss of a channel or account, and we are not responsible for the decisions platforms make.
[TO CHECK — liability caps bind only so far as they are reasonable, and the test is stricter for consumers. Worth a qualified review.]
11. Ending the arrangement
You may stop instructing us at any time. Work already carried out is chargeable, and anything paid for but not yet done will be refunded. Retainers can be ended by either side with 30 days written notice.
12. Governing law
These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction. [NOTE — consumers abroad can often still sue in their own country regardless of this clause.]
13. Contact
Email tristan.joyce@clearclaimip.com, Discord discord.gg/clearclaim, or Telegram @clearclaim.