Two ways to ask for a removal
One photo in the community gallery?
Use the Report button on the photo. It goes straight to the moderation queue, and you don't need an account.
Anything else, or a formal notice?
Email a DMCA notice — there's a template below to copy, with everything the law asks for.
A summary to help you find your way. It is not part of the policy — the numbered sections below are.
1. Overview
MP3Pdb is a fan archive that respects the intellectual property of others. Images sourced from third-party pages are displayed with a link to their source, and community photo uploads and member contributions (box and bio-card photos, and instruction scans, which only signed-in members can see) are reviewed before publishing. A photo a member shares on someone else's behalf names its photographer and, where given, links to the original post. Our Sources page names every site the archive reads and the rules we follow when we visit them. If you believe content on the site infringes your copyright, this page explains how to have it reviewed and removed.
2. Filing a takedown notice
The fastest route for a single photo is the Report button shown on photos in the community gallery — it goes straight to our moderation queue. For a formal DMCA notice, email our designated agent (below) with the following, per 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(3):
- your physical or electronic signature;
- identification of the copyrighted work you claim is infringed;
- identification of the material to remove, with enough detail for us to find it (a URL is ideal);
- your contact information — address, telephone number, and email;
- a statement that you have a good-faith belief the use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law;
- a statement, under penalty of perjury, that the notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act for them.
A notice that covers all of these — copy it, or open it in your email app:
Subject: DMCA notice 1. The copyrighted work: [describe it, or link to where the original is published] 2. The material on MP3Pdb to remove: [the URL of each page or photo] 3. My contact details: [full name, postal address, telephone number, email] 4. I 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. 5. The information in this notice is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, I am the owner of the copyright, or am authorized to act on behalf of the owner. Signature: [type your full name]
3. Designated agent
Copyright notices should be sent to: legal@mp3pdb.com (subject line "DMCA notice"). Registration of our designated agent with the U.S. Copyright Office is in progress; this section will be updated with the agent's full contact details.
4. Counter-notification
If your content was removed and you believe that was a mistake or misidentification, you may send a counter-notification to the same address, per 17 U.S.C. § 512(g)(3), including:
- your physical or electronic signature;
- identification of the removed material and where it appeared;
- a statement under penalty of perjury that you have a good-faith belief the material was removed by mistake or misidentification;
- your name, address, and telephone number, and consent to the jurisdiction of the federal district court for your district (or, if outside the US, any district where MP3Pdb may be found);
- a statement that you will accept service of process from the person who sent the original notice, or their agent.
Subject: DMCA counter-notification 1. The material that was removed: [what it was, and the URL where it appeared] 2. I swear, under penalty of perjury, that I have a good-faith belief the material was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification of the material to be removed or disabled. 3. My name, address and telephone number: [full name, postal address, telephone number] 4. I consent to the jurisdiction of the Federal District Court for the judicial district in which my address is located (or, if my address is outside the United States, any judicial district in which MP3Pdb may be found), and I will accept service of process from the person who provided the original notification, or an agent of that person. Signature: [type your full name]
Unless the original complainant files a court action, removed material may be restored in 10–14 business days after we receive a valid counter-notification.
5. Repeat infringers
Accounts that repeatedly upload infringing material will be terminated.
6. Other intellectual-property complaints
For trademark or other non-copyright IP concerns, email legal@mp3pdb.com with details and we'll review promptly.
What changed
- Any photo a member shares may be someone else's, not only a comparison — a figure, a shelf, a QC issue, a store or a convention booth — with the photographer's agreement and credit.
- Easier to read: a table of contents, a key-points summary and this list. The Terms are now governed by Ohio law. The Privacy Policy now says which outside services your browser contacts while you use the site (Google Maps, image hosts), mentions two-factor sign-in, and lists every kind of email we send. The DMCA page has copyable notice templates, and its counter-notification list now includes accepting service of process, as the law requires.
- A member may share a comparison photo they did not take, with the photographer's agreement and credit.
- Member contributions: box and bio-card photos and instruction scans — what you confirm when you send one, how they are reviewed, and what happens to them when you delete your account.
- First published.