Copyright Policy & DMCA Notice Procedure

EARTH.ONLINE / 地球在线(成都)大数据有限责任公司

1. Scope and Operator

This policy applies to the official EARTH.ONLINE website at earthonline.org.cn, its mobile pages, and related services operated by 地球在线(成都)大数据有限责任公司 (the “Operator,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) that link to this policy. It explains ownership of platform content, user content, and third-party material, as well as our process for copyright notices and counter-notices.

The “Earth Online” concept and related expressions have emerged from the long-standing discussions, sharing, and contributions of our fans and other internet users, reflecting a distinct background of internet culture and collective creativity. We deeply respect these origins. We do not claim ownership of the abstract idea of describing or understanding the real world as an online game, any internet meme, general premise, common game mechanic, public topic, or pre-existing community expression, and we have no right to prevent anyone from independently creating works based on the same ideas or themes.

We assert copyright only in specific original content created, organized, or developed for this platform to the extent that we lawfully own the applicable rights. Copyright protects original expression; it does not, by itself, create exclusive rights in ideas, facts, systems, methods, game concepts, or standard interface elements.

2. Ownership of Content

Except where otherwise stated or owned by another party, we retain the copyrights and related rights that we lawfully hold in our original materials, including:

• source code, software, data models, interface implementations, build scripts, and technical documentation;
• original text, narrative expression, names and combinations of names, prompts, and documentation;
• original graphics, illustrations, photographs, audiovisual materials, icons, and animations;
• original page composition, visual arrangement, component styling, and interaction expression; and
• compilations whose selection or arrangement is sufficiently original.

Users retain the rights they lawfully hold in posts, comments, images, guides, reviews, and other submissions. Any license granted to us is governed by our Terms; this policy does not automatically transfer user copyrights to us.

Open-source components, fonts, libraries, third-party media, and trademarks remain subject to their respective owners and licenses. A component license does not extend to the Website as a whole or to unrelated proprietary material.

3. Limited Permission and Reserved Rights

You may browse public pages for personal, non-commercial purposes, share ordinary links, and make uses permitted by applicable law, including applicable quotation, criticism, reporting, teaching, research, fair use, or other statutory exceptions. Content expressly offered under a download, sharing, embed, or open-source license may be used under that specific license.

Unless applicable law permits the use or we give prior written permission, you may not reproduce or distribute substantial portions of the Website or its source code; create a confusing clone or mirror; remove rights-management information; circumvent access controls; misrepresent affiliation or authorization; or use protected material to build datasets or models intended to reproduce substantially similar protected expression.

Attribution alone does not grant permission for a use that otherwise requires authorization.

4. Copyright and DMCA Notices

If you believe material available through EARTH.ONLINE infringes a copyright you own or are authorized to enforce, send a written notice containing substantially all of the following:

1. Your physical or electronic signature, or that of a person authorized to act for the copyright owner.
2. Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed. A representative list may be used when one notice covers multiple works at one online location.
3. Identification of the material claimed to be infringing, together with the exact URL, post or content identifier, and enough information for us to locate it.
4. Your legal name, mailing address, telephone number, and email address.
5. A statement that you have a good-faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.
6. A statement that the information in the notice is accurate and, under penalty of perjury, that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act for the owner.

Please include supporting ownership or authorization records when available. Use the subject line [DMCA Notice] Rights holder — work or page. Notices that omit required information or do not identify the material precisely may be delayed while we request clarification.

5. Our Initial Response

After receiving a substantially complete notice, we may review the submission, preserve relevant records, notify the user who supplied the material, and remove or disable access to the material when appropriate. We may forward the notice, including the claimant’s contact information, to that user or to service providers, advisers, regulators, or courts as reasonably necessary.

Our initial action is an operational response, not a final judicial determination of infringement. We may decline or seek clarification regarding notices that are incomplete, materially inaccurate, abusive, unrelated to copyright, or that fail to account for an apparent license or legal exception.

6. Counter-Notification

If material you supplied was removed or disabled because of a copyright notice and you believe the action resulted from mistake or misidentification, you may send a written counter-notification containing substantially all of the following:

1. Your physical or electronic signature.
2. Identification of the material removed or disabled and the location where it appeared before removal or disabling.
3. A statement under penalty of perjury that you have a good-faith belief the material was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification.
4. Your legal name, mailing address, telephone number, and email address.
5. Your consent to the jurisdiction of the U.S. 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 the relevant service provider may be found.
6. Your agreement to accept service of process from the person who submitted the original notice or that person’s agent.

Where 17 U.S.C. § 512 applies and a valid counter-notification is received, the material may be restored not less than 10 and not more than 14 U.S. business days after receipt, unless we first receive notice that the claimant has filed an action seeking a court order concerning the material. Other restoration timelines may apply under non-U.S. law.

7. Notices Under Non-U.S. Law

We also accept copyright notices and responses under other applicable laws. For claims under the laws of the People’s Republic of China, a notice should include the rights holder’s true identity and contact details, the name and network address of the material requested to be removed or disconnected, and preliminary evidence of infringement. A response should identify the affected material and provide preliminary evidence that the material is non-infringing. Each submitting party is responsible for the truthfulness and legality of its submission.

8. Repeat Infringers and Other Measures

When appropriate and technically feasible, we may warn, restrict, suspend, or terminate accounts that repeatedly or seriously infringe copyrights. We may also preserve evidence, restrict re-uploads, or take other proportionate measures. We reserve discretion to address clear infringement even if no formal notice has been received.

9. Misrepresentation

Knowingly making a material misrepresentation in a notice or counter-notification may result in liability under 17 U.S.C. § 512(f) or other applicable law, including liability for resulting damages, costs, and attorneys’ fees. Before submitting a notice, consider whether the use is licensed or protected by fair use or another legal exception.

10. Privacy and Record Preservation

We may retain notices, counter-notices, the disputed material, timestamps, network addresses, and related operational records for verification, dispute resolution, compliance, and legal proceedings. Do not send passwords, verification codes, private keys, payment credentials, or identity documents that are unrelated to the claim.

11. Designated-Agent and Safe-Harbor Status

The contact below is our operational copyright contact. This page does not represent that a DMCA designated-agent filing has been made with the U.S. Copyright Office or that any particular safe-harbor protection applies. A U.S. service provider seeking protection under 17 U.S.C. § 512 must separately satisfy the applicable statutory conditions and maintain an accurate agent designation where required.

12. No Waiver; Updates

Nothing in this policy waives any copyright, contractual right, defense, remedy, jurisdictional objection, or other legal position. Failure to enforce a right immediately is not a waiver. A specific license, open-source license, or written agreement controls over this general policy for the material it covers.

We may update this policy to reflect service, licensing, or legal changes. Material changes will be identified by a revised date.

13. Contact Information