Copyright & DMCA Policy

Gather Media — Open Civic Systems
Version 1.0
Effective Date March 2026
Last Reviewed March 2026

Gather Media is a project of Open Civic Systems (OCS), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. We respect the intellectual property rights of others and expect contributors and collection curators to do the same.

What This Policy Covers

This policy applies to all content hosted by Gather Media and accessible through gathermedia.org, including:

  • Photos, videos, and documents uploaded by contributors or collection curators
  • All media files served from our asset domain (gm-assets.ocs-assets.org)
  • Content displayed through the Open Civic Systems Data Visualizer — the visualizer renders media fetched from Gather Media's servers; Gather Media is the host and this policy applies

Gather Media is the service provider under 17 U.S.C. § 512 for all content stored in our infrastructure. This policy does not cover collection curators' own external websites or communication channels.

Designated Agent

Open Civic Systems has registered a DMCA Designated Agent with the U.S. Copyright Office (Registration No. DMCA-1069530). That registration covers gathermedia.org and all associated asset domains.

To report copyright infringement, contact:

DMCA Agent Open Civic Systems 1110 Via Regina Santa Barbara, CA 93111

Email: dmca@opencivicsystems.org Phone: 805-669-0828

You may also reach us at dmca@gathermedia.org, which forwards to the same inbox.

Submitting a Takedown Notice

To submit a valid DMCA notice under 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(3), your written notification must include:

  1. Your signature (physical or electronic)
  2. Identification of the copyrighted work you claim is infringed
  3. The specific URL(s) where the allegedly infringing material appears on Gather Media
  4. Your contact information (name, address, phone, email)
  5. A statement that you have a good faith belief the use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law
  6. A statement, under penalty of perjury, that the information is accurate and you are authorized to act for the copyright owner

Send your notice by email to dmca@opencivicsystems.org or submit a structured notice using our online intake form.

For the complete takedown procedure, counter-notice process, and repeat infringer policy, see the Open Civic Systems Master DMCA Policy.

What Happens After a Notice

When we receive a valid notice, we will act expeditiously to remove or disable access to the identified content and notify the collection curator if identifiable. Collection curators are participants in this process — Gather Media retains authority to act on valid DMCA notices regardless of curator response.

For counter-notices and reinstatement of removed content, follow the procedure described in the OCS Master DMCA Policy.

Repeat Infringers

OCS maintains a repeat infringer policy. Contributors and curators who repeatedly infringe the copyrights of others may have their accounts suspended or their access to Gather Media restricted. See the OCS Master DMCA Policy for details.

Contact

For copyright questions or to submit a notice:

Email: dmca@opencivicsystems.org or dmca@gathermedia.org (forwarded to the same inbox)

For other questions: support@opencivicsystems.org

Related Policies

Gather Media is operated by Open Civic Systems. For the full DMCA procedure applicable to all OCS platforms, see the OCS Master DMCA Policy.

Effective Date: March 2026