SFCN DMCA Copyright Policy

It is against the Customer Use policy of SFCN for any customer to download or upload illegal material using any SFCN network. SFCN is required by the Federal Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) to attempt to curtail illegal sharing of copyrighted material using our network. These requirements require us to take steps up to and including permanent termination of Internet service. DMCA does not require us to give your name or any personal information to the copyright owner, but requires us to try and stop legally noticed DMCA violations.

SFCN does not monitor our network traffic for copyright violations. The violation notices come from the owner of the material or a designated third party. We have no information as to the validity of the notice received. It is important to note that if you feel the DMCA violation notice is improper, invalid or incorrect, you can and should dispute the violation claim but doing so may invite the copyright owner to take further legal action.

SFCN will never share your personal information with the copyright owner or anyone else for that matter unless we receive a properly executed legal subpoena. We believe your information and even your connection to a particular IP address is sacrosanct and we will legally guard and defend that information.

SFCN respectfully disagrees with the DMCA requirements for Internet Service Providers. The requirements do not give alleged copyright violators legal due process. The owners of the copyrighted material could and should be required to get a properly executed search warrant and be required to go after the violators themselves without placing requirements on the ISP. Our Federal government decided to remove proper due process for those accused because it was easier and lessened the burden on the copyright owners. The law places ISPs in the untenable position of policing what is transmitted across our network even though the copyrighted material never exists in its entirety on our network.