DMCA Policy

1. Designated Agent

Our designated agent for receipt of DMCA notifications is reachable by email at info@fishinglicenseguide.org. Please use the subject line “DMCA notice” for takedown requests and “DMCA counter-notice” for counter-notifications. We process all notices submitted in good faith and that include the six statutory elements set out below.

2. Filing a DMCA Notice

If you believe content on fishinglicenseguide.org/ infringes a copyright you own or are authorised to enforce, send a written notice to the designated agent. The notice should be sent in plain text or PDF and include all six statutory elements.

3. Six Required Elements (17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(3))

1. Physical or electronic signature of the copyright owner, or a person authorised to act on the owner’s behalf.
2. Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed — a specific work, or, if multiple works at the site are covered, a representative list.
3. Identification of the allegedly infringing material — sufficient to permit us to locate it (full URLs to the specific guide or guides on fishinglicenseguide.org/, not the homepage).
4. Reasonably sufficient contact information — your name, address, telephone number, and email.
5. A good-faith statement that you have a good-faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorised by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.
6. An accuracy statement under penalty of perjury — that the information in the notification is accurate, and (under penalty of perjury) that you are authorised to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

4. Counter-Notice (17 U.S.C. § 512(g))

If your content was removed in response to a DMCA notice and you believe the removal was based on mistake or misidentification, you may file a counter-notice. A counter-notice must include:

• Your physical or electronic signature
• Identification of the material that was removed and the location at which it appeared before removal
• A statement under penalty of perjury that you have a good-faith belief that the material was removed as a result of mistake or misidentification
• Your name, address, and telephone number
• 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 outside the U.S., for any judicial district in which fishinglicenseguide.org/ may be found), and that you will accept service of process from the person who submitted the original notice

If we receive a valid counter-notice, we will forward it to the original complainant. If the original complainant does not file a court action seeking a restraining order against the user within 10–14 business days of receipt of the counter-notice, we may restore the removed material.

5. Repeat-Infringer Policy (17 U.S.C. § 512(i))

fishinglicenseguide.org/ maintains a policy, in compliance with Section 512(i), of terminating in appropriate circumstances the access of users (including contributors and commenters) who are repeat infringers of copyright.

6. Misrepresentation Liability (17 U.S.C. § 512(f))

7. Fair Use & Educational Fishing-License Content (17 U.S.C. § 107)

Section 107 of the Copyright Act establishes the fair-use defence. The four statutory factors are: (1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether it is for nonprofit educational purposes or transformative; (2) the nature of the copyrighted work; (3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and (4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

8. Federal and State Government Works

Federal government works are generally not subject to copyright (17 U.S.C. § 105) — including most U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), NOAA Fisheries / National Marine Fisheries Service, U.S. Coast Guard, National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and Bureau of Indian Affairs publications. Many state government works are similarly available for non-commercial reuse with attribution under each state’s open-records or transparency framework, though the rules vary state by state. We comply with each state’s stated reuse policy and link to the original published page rather than reproducing it.

9. Trademark — Nominative Fair Use

We use the names of state fish and wildlife agencies and federal authorities — for example, “California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW),” “Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC),” “Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD),” “New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC),” “Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC),” “Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW),” “Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC),” “Michigan Department of Natural Resources,” “Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources,” “Minnesota Department of Natural Resources,” “North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC),” “Georgia Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Resources Division,” “Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources,” “Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G),” “Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD),” “Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC),” “Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW),” “Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP),” “Hawaii Division of Aquatic Resources,” “Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG),” “Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR),” “Indiana Department of Natural Resources Fish & Wildlife,” “Iowa Department of Natural Resources,” “Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP),” “Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDFWR),” “Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF),” “Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MDIFW),” “Maryland Department of Natural Resources,” “Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife),” “Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks (MDWFP),” “Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP),” “Nebraska Game and Parks Commission,” “Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW),” “New Hampshire Fish and Game Department,” “New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife,” “New Mexico Department of Game and Fish,” “North Dakota Game and Fish Department,” “Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife,” “Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation (ODWC),” “Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management,” “South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR),” “South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks,” “Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA),” “Utah Division of Wildlife Resources,” “Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department,” “Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources,” “Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW),” “West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (WVDNR),” “Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD),” and the federal authorities “U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,” “NOAA Fisheries,” “National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS),” “U.S. Coast Guard,” “National Park Service,” “U.S. Forest Service,” “Bureau of Land Management,” and “Bureau of Indian Affairs” — to identify the agency our guide covers.

This is nominative fair use. Under the Ninth Circuit’s framework in New Kids on the Block v. News America Publishing, Inc., 971 F.2d 302 (9th Cir. 1992) and subsequent case law, nominative use is permitted where (a) the product or service in question is not readily identifiable without use of the trademark, (b) only so much of the mark is used as is reasonably necessary, and (c) the user does nothing that would suggest sponsorship or endorsement by the mark holder. We meet all three requirements.

If you are the mark holder for a referenced agency or authority and you believe our use exceeds nominative fair use, email us with subject line “Trademark concern” — we respond within 5 business days. We will not entertain trademark objections that are functionally objections to accurate identification of the agency our editorial content describes.

10. Defamation Framework

Defamation requires a false statement of fact published with the relevant degree of fault. Our content is editorial reporting on fishing license requirements — fee tables, walkthroughs, season dates, free fishing days, and procedural descriptions. We rarely have occasion to publish defamation-relevant content; when we do reference state agencies, federal authorities, or wildlife enforcement officers, we attribute statements to the official record and we correct factual errors when shown they are factual errors.

For matters of public concern, the U.S. Supreme Court’s framework in New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254 (1964) requires public officials to prove “actual malice” (knowledge of falsity or reckless disregard for the truth). Senior officials at state fish and wildlife agencies, federal authorities, and wildlife enforcement officers acting in their official capacity are typically public officials or public figures for Sullivan purposes when commentary concerns institutional conduct. For private figures involved in matters of public concern, Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc., 418 U.S. 323 (1974) and its progeny require at least a showing of fault.

We report on regulatory practice. We attribute. We correct factual errors. We do not retract accurate content in response to objections from people who don’t like that the content is accurate. If you believe a statement on the site is factually incorrect, email us with subject line “Defamation concern” or “Correction” — provide the page URL, the specific statement, and the source you believe shows it is incorrect. We respond within 7 business days.

11. What We Can’t Help With

• We can’t remove regulations from a state fish and wildlife agency’s published page — we describe what the agency publishes; the agency is the authority
• We can’t remove accurate content drawn from public agency pages
• We can’t remove information about you from any state license database — that’s the agency’s record; you must contact the agency directly
• We can’t represent you in litigation against any third party — consult a lawyer
• We can’t process license purchases, fee payments, or any agency transaction
• We can’t remove your search history from search engines — that’s between you and the search engine

12. Contact

For DMCA notices: info@fishinglicenseguide.org with subject line “DMCA notice”.
For counter-notices: subject line “DMCA counter-notice”.
For trademark concerns: subject line “Trademark concern”.
For defamation concerns: subject line “Defamation concern” or “Correction”.