← Rats policies

Rats — DMCA Copyright Policy

Last updated: October 24, 2026

Rats (the "Service") is operated by Rats App LLC ("Rats," "we," "us"). Rats respects the intellectual property rights of others and expects everyone who uses the Service to do the same. This policy explains how copyright works on Rats and how we respond to claims of copyright infringement under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 512 (the "DMCA"). It is part of, and should be read together with, our Terms of Service and Community Guidelines.

This policy is not legal advice. If you are unsure whether material infringes a copyright, or whether a use is permitted (for example, as fair use), you may want to consult an attorney before sending a notice or counter-notice.

1. Who owns what

2. What you may not upload

Do not upload content that infringes someone else's copyright. This includes:

Copyright infringement violates our Terms of Service. We may remove infringing content and, as described in §7, terminate the accounts of repeat infringers.

3. Reporting copyright infringement (DMCA takedown notice)

If you are a copyright owner, or are authorized to act on behalf of one, and you believe material on Rats infringes that copyright, send a written notice to our Designated Copyright Agent (§9). To be effective under 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(3), your notice must include all of the following:

  1. Signature. A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the exclusive right that is allegedly infringed. (A typed full name at the end of an email is generally accepted as an electronic signature.)
  2. The copyrighted work. Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed — or, if multiple works are covered by a single notice, a representative list of those works.
  3. The infringing material and where to find it. Identification of the material claimed to be infringing (or to be the subject of infringing activity) that should be removed or disabled, with information reasonably sufficient for us to locate it. Rats clips are viewed inside the app, so please include the @username of the account that posted it, the park name (if any) shown on the clip, the approximate date it was posted, its caption, and, if possible, a screenshot.
  4. Your contact information. Information reasonably sufficient for us to contact you, such as your name, mailing address, telephone number, and email address.
  5. Good-faith statement. A statement that you have 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.
  6. Accuracy and authority statement. A statement that the information in the notice is accurate, and, under penalty of perjury, that you are authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

Before you send a notice, please consider whether the use could be fair use or otherwise permitted. Under 17 U.S.C. § 512(f), anyone who knowingly materially misrepresents that material or activity is infringing may be liable for damages, including costs and attorneys' fees.

A notice that fails to substantially comply with these requirements may not be treated as a valid DMCA notice. If a notice is missing something, we may contact you to ask for it.

The in-app 🚩 Report → Copyright option is a quick way to flag a clip to us, but it is not a substitute for a DMCA notice, because it does not include the statements required above. Copyright owners should send a full notice to the Designated Copyright Agent.

4. What we do when we receive a valid notice

When we receive a notice that substantially complies with § 512(c)(3), we will:

  1. Act expeditiously to remove or disable access to the material identified in the notice. Removed clips are hidden from everyone using the Service (including on park pages, feeds, the World Feed, and the poster's profile), and the underlying video file can no longer be loaded. (A copy that was already open in someone's app when we removed it may keep playing for up to a few hours, until its temporary access link expires.)
  2. Notify the user who posted it promptly that the material was removed or disabled because of a copyright notice. We notify the user in the app and may also contact them by email. We may give the user a copy of the notice, including the complaining party's name and contact information, so that they can respond.
  3. Record the notice and, where appropriate, count the removal toward the account's copyright strikes (§7).

We do not decide ownership disputes between users and copyright owners. We respond to properly submitted notices and counter-notices as this policy and the DMCA describe.

Separately from any notice, we may remove or disable access to material that we believe in good faith is infringing — for example, where it is apparent from the material itself — and we may remove content for violating our Terms or Community Guidelines.

5. Counter-notices (if your content was removed)

If your content was removed or disabled because of a copyright notice and you believe in good faith that this was a mistake or misidentification of the material, you may send a counter-notice to our Designated Copyright Agent (§9). To be effective under 17 U.S.C. § 512(g)(3), your counter-notice must include all of the following:

  1. Your physical or electronic signature.
  2. Identification of the material that was removed or disabled, and the location where it appeared before it was removed (for example, your username, the park name, the date you posted it, and its caption).
  3. 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. 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 any judicial district in which Rats App LLC may be found), and that you will accept service of process from the person who provided the original notice, or an agent of that person.

Important: we will send a copy of your counter-notice — including your name, address, telephone number, and email address — to the person who sent the original notice. Knowingly misrepresenting that material was removed by mistake or misidentification can make you liable for damages under 17 U.S.C. § 512(f). If you are unsure whether to send a counter-notice, you may want to consult an attorney.

6. What happens after a counter-notice

When we receive a counter-notice that substantially complies with § 512(g)(3), we will:

  1. Promptly send a copy of the counter-notice to the person who sent the original notice, and tell them that we will restore the removed material, or stop disabling access to it, in 10 business days.
  2. Restore the material — or stop disabling access to it — not less than 10 and not more than 14 business days after we receive the counter-notice, unless our Designated Copyright Agent first receives notice from the person who sent the original notice that they have filed an action seeking a court order to restrain the user from engaging in infringing activity relating to the material on Rats. If we receive that notice of a court action, the material will stay down.

A removal that is reversed this way does not count as a copyright strike.

7. Repeat infringers

Rats has adopted, and reasonably implements, a policy of terminating, in appropriate circumstances, the accounts of users who are repeat infringers.

8. Standard technical measures

Rats accommodates, and does not interfere with, standard technical measures used by copyright owners to identify or protect copyrighted works, within the meaning of 17 U.S.C. § 512(i). Rats does not currently use automated content-recognition or filtering technology to screen uploads.

9. Designated Copyright Agent and contact information

Send DMCA notices and counter-notices to our Designated Copyright Agent, who is registered with the U.S. Copyright Office's DMCA Designated Agent Directory. Notices sent by email are usually handled fastest.

Service provider

Designated Copyright Agent

Please use these contact details only for copyright notices and counter-notices. Other messages sent here — including general support requests and reports of harassment, safety issues, impersonation, or other Community Guidelines problems — may not receive a response. For those, use the in-app 🚩 Report or Block tools, or email the general contact address listed in our Terms of Service.

10. Other limitations