Copyright and DMCA Policy

1. What this policy covers

OakTend is a marketplace. Most of what appears on it, homeowner photos of homes and systems, uploaded documents, contractor logos, portfolio photos, quotes, and license or insurance files, is uploaded by users, not by us. We do not review material before it is posted. This notice-and-takedown process is how copyright owners tell us about infringing material so we can act on it.

2. Our safe harbor position

OakTend LLC, a California limited liability company, operating OakTend, is a service provider under 17 U.S.C. section 512 and intends to qualify for the safe harbors that section provides for material posted by users. We have designated an agent to receive copyright infringement notices, registered that agent with the U.S. Copyright Office, and adopted the notice, counter-notice, and repeat infringer procedures below.

3. Our designated copyright agent

Send copyright infringement notices to:

Designated Copyright Agent

OakTend LLC

2108 N Street, Suite N, Sacramento, CA 95816

Phone: (714) 468-5480

Email: hello@oaktend.com

Send notices only to this address. Notices sent elsewhere, including to general support, may be delayed or missed.

4. What a valid takedown notice must contain

Under 17 U.S.C. section 512(c)(3), a notice is only effective if it includes, in writing, substantially all six (6) of the following:

1. A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.
2. Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, if the notice covers multiple works at OakTend, a representative list of those works.
3. Identification of the material claimed to be infringing and information reasonably sufficient for us to locate it, ideally a direct link to the page on OakTend.
4. Information reasonably sufficient to let us contact you: name, address, telephone number, and, if available, an 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, made under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notice is accurate and that you are authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner.

A notice missing one of these elements may not count as valid notice under the law, so please include all six. Our legal deadlines under Section 512 only run from a complete notice.

5. What we do after we receive a valid notice

We remove or disable access to the identified material. We take reasonable steps to tell the user who posted it, generally by forwarding a copy of the notice, including the contact information you gave us, to that user. We keep a record of the notice and our response.

6. Counter-notices

If material you posted was removed and you believe that was a mistake or a case of mistaken identity, you can send a counter-notice to the same agent listed above. Under 17 U.S.C. section 512(g)(3), a valid counter-notice must include:

1. Your physical or electronic signature.
2. Identification of the material that was removed and the location where it appeared before removal.
3. A statement, made 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, a statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of the federal district court for the judicial district where your address is located (or, if you are outside the United States, any judicial district where OakTend may be found), and a statement that you will accept service of process from the person who filed the original notice or their agent.

If we receive a valid counter-notice, we forward it to the person who filed the original notice. We then restore the material in not less than ten (10) and not more than fourteen (14) business days, unless our agent first receives notice that the original complainant has filed a court action seeking to restrain the user from the infringing activity.

7. Repeat infringer policy

We terminate, in appropriate circumstances, the accounts of homeowners or contractors who are repeat infringers. In practice this means an account can be suspended or permanently closed, and a contractor's public page taken down, after repeated valid takedown notices against that account. This is separate from, and in addition to, the account termination rights described in the Terms of Service.

8. Misrepresentation is a real legal risk

Under 17 U.S.C. section 512(f), anyone who knowingly and materially misrepresents that material is infringing, or that it was removed by mistake, can be liable for damages, including costs and attorneys' fees, to the person harmed, the copyright owner, or us. This applies equally to takedown notices and counter-notices. If you are not sure a use is actually infringing (fair use, for example, or a photo you licensed to a contractor), talk to a lawyer before filing.

9. Not a copyright issue? Contact legal instead

This page and our designated agent only handle copyright infringement claims. Trademark disputes, privacy complaints, harassment, or other legal concerns should go to legal@oaktend.com instead. Sending a copyright notice about a non-copyright issue will not get it resolved faster.

10. Photo ownership: homeowners and pros

A homeowner's photos of their own home, systems, and issues belong to the homeowner. A contractor may only post job or project photos, including before-and-after photos, on their OakTend profile if they have the homeowner's permission to use those photos publicly. Posting a homeowner's photo without permission can be both a copyright and a privacy problem, and we treat a homeowner's report of either the same way: we look into it and can remove the material.