An Exclu counter notice is the signed statement a creator sends to contact@exclu.at to get content restored after a DMCA takedown removed work the creator owns or is licensed to sell. Exclu’s DMCA Policy, last updated April 2, 2026, says the removed content may be restored in 10 to 14 business days once a valid counter notice is forwarded to the claimant, unless the claimant files a court action first. The same policy terminates any account that collects more than two valid takedown notices for distinct works. A third valid notice on a separate piece of content ends the account. Every false claim you leave unanswered moves you closer to that line, so a complete counter notice protects the account as well as the item. If the claim is right and you hold no rights in the work, do not file one, because a false counter notice creates its own legal liability.

We teach method here, not legal advice for your file. A counter notice is a sworn statement you sign in your own name.

What an Exclu DMCA Takedown Means

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act built a notice and takedown system into US copyright law. A rights owner sends a hosting service a notice. The service removes the material and tells the uploader. The uploader may answer with a counter notification. The whole framework sits in 17 U.S.C. 512. Takedown notices are governed by section 512(c), counter notifications by section 512(g), liability for false statements by section 512(f) and the repeat infringer requirement by section 512(i).

Exclu is run by EXCLU LTD, a company registered in Nicosia, Cyprus. It still runs a DMCA process because it hosts content sold to buyers in the United States. Its DMCA Agent sits at the company’s Nicosia office and takes notices at contact@exclu.at or through the Telegram account @exclu_alternative. A claimant who wants the fastest handling is told to use the email subject line “DMCA Takedown Notice.”

How creators find out

Most creators learn of a takedown from Exclu’s notification email. The policy says Exclu notifies the user who posted the content, sends a copy of the notice and explains the right to file a counter notification. That copy matters. A compliant notice carries the claimant’s full legal name, mailing address, telephone number and email, so you learn who filed and which work they say is theirs. The link stops working for buyers the moment access is disabled, and some creators first notice the problem when a buyer reports a dead link.

What a takedown decides and what it leaves open

A takedown records a claim. It is not a finding that you infringed. Exclu acts on what the claimant swore to, and you have not answered yet. Section 512 gives the platform a safe harbor for removing on notice. It does not ask the platform to decide who owns the work. That decision belongs to a court if the claimant chooses to sue, and the counter notice is the mechanism that forces the claimant to choose.

Why the count of valid notices drives everything

Exclu’s repeat infringer rule rests on two words in the policy. It counts valid notices, and it counts distinct works. Ten notices about one video are one work. Three notices about three different photo sets are three works, and the third valid one crosses the line. The US Copyright Office explains on its section 512 resource page that repeat infringers can include users who have repeatedly had material removed through takedowns, not only users found liable in court. Exclu’s policy counts valid takedown notices, not court judgments.

Your position	Account risk under the DMCA Policy	What to do this week
First notice, claim is false	Low if you file a counter notice	Send a complete counter notice within days, not weeks
First notice, claim is correct	One valid notice on record	Leave the item down and audit every similar item
Second valid notice on a different work	One more valid notice ends the account	Contest any false claim and remove anything you cannot license
Third valid notice on a distinct work	Termination as a repeat infringer	Shift to the account, the wallet balance and the dispute route in the Terms
Notice missing required elements	Weak basis for removal	Point out the missing element in a short written reply

How Exclu Processes a Valid DMCA Notice

The sequence below combines Exclu’s own policy text with the statutory steps in section 512(g)(2). Exclu’s policy gives no fixed deadline for the first removal. It says Exclu acts promptly once a valid notice arrives.

Four stages of an Exclu takedown, from the claimant’s notice to restoration of the item 10 to 14 business days after a valid counter notice.

A notice reaches the DMCA Agent. The claimant identifies the copyrighted work and the Exclu link or creator profile where the copy appears.
Exclu checks the six elements. Its policy lists the same six items as section 512(c)(3)(A). Those are a signature, the work, the location of the material, contact details, a good faith statement and a statement under penalty of perjury that the claimant is the owner or authorized to act.
Access is removed or disabled. Buyers can no longer open the item.
You receive the notice. Exclu tells you about the removal, sends a copy of the notice and explains your right to counter.
You send a counter notice to contact@exclu.at. Only file if you own the work or hold written rights to every part of it.
Exclu forwards your counter notice. Section 512(g)(2)(B) has the platform send a copy to the claimant and tell them the material will be replaced in 10 business days.
The item may return. Section 512(g)(2)(C) sets restoration no less than 10 and no more than 14 business days after the counter notice is received. That clock stops only if the claimant tells the DMCA Agent it has filed an action seeking a court order against you.

The court action the claimant must bring

The 10 to 14 business day window puts the burden on the claimant. To keep the item down, they must file suit. For a United States work, 17 U.S.C. 411(a) bars an infringement suit until the copyright claim has been preregistered or registered. A leaker who copied your video cannot register a claim to a work they did not create without making a false statement to the Copyright Office. A real rights holder with a registered work can file quickly. That difference is why most false claims end at the counter notice.

What Exclu’s reviewer checks in your reply

The person handling your counter notice asks two questions. Does it contain every element the statute and the policy require? Do your records support a good faith belief that the removal was a mistake or a misidentification? A reply missing an element can be treated as incomplete and left unforwarded. A reply with every element but no proof of authorship still gets forwarded, yet it leaves you exposed if the claimant sues.

Payout questions often come up at the same time, because a removed item stops earning. Our guide on clearing Exclu identity verification before a payout covers the verification side, which runs separately from the DMCA file.

When Exclu Treats You as a Repeat Infringer

Section 512(i)(1)(A) conditions the safe harbor on a policy that terminates repeat infringers “in appropriate circumstances.” The statute leaves the number to the platform. Exclu chose a low one. More than two valid notices for distinct works means the third distinct valid notice triggers termination. Three business models produce nearly every notice we see on creator subscription platforms.

Creators reselling purchased or traded content

This model produces valid notices. A creator buys a content bundle, swaps sets with another creator or saves material from another site, then sells it on Exclu. The original producer finds it and files. Each set is a distinct work. A creator reselling three items from one producer can cross the line from a single claimant in a single week.

The financial exposure goes beyond the account. Under 17 U.S.C. 504(c), a court may award statutory damages of $750 to $30,000 per work infringed, up to $150,000 per work for willful infringement. Selling a work is distribution, one of the six exclusive rights the owner holds under 17 U.S.C. 106. A trade between creators is not a license unless it is in writing and covers resale on Exclu. If you cannot show a written right to sell an item, take it down before anyone files.

Creators using music in videos

This model produces surprise notices. A creator lays a chart track under a video, and the label’s notice removes the whole item. The footage is the creator’s own. The soundtrack is not. Fair use under 17 U.S.C. 107 weighs four factors. Those are the purpose and character of the use, including whether it is commercial, the nature of the work, the amount used and the effect on the market for the original. A paid video using a full song as background music rarely passes that test. Use licensed audio, keep the license and log which track sits in which video.

Creators hit by false claims from leakers

This model produces wrongful notices, and counter notices do the most good here. Someone copies a creator’s set, reposts it on another site and then files against the creator’s original on Exclu. Sometimes the leaker wants the copy to be the only version for sale. Sometimes it is plain harassment. Automated matching produces a similar result when a creator’s earlier upload is matched against their own later one.

Keep dated originals and first upload records for everything you publish, so authorship can be shown the same day a claim lands. Where the same person is also selling your sets or posing as you, our guide to impersonation and stolen content on Exclu covers that side. Our walkthrough on sending your own DMCA takedown notice covers removing the leaked copies from the sites hosting them.

How three notices end an account in practice

A creator gets a notice against one video and lets it go because the video earned little. Six weeks later a second notice arrives against a different photo set from the same leaker, and again nothing is filed. Both claims were false. Exclu now holds two uncontested claims against two separate sets. A third notice arrives from a music label over a track the creator never licensed. The account is now past the line. Only one of the three claims was correct. Two counter notices, each about 300 words with source files attached, would have kept the account open. We see this sequence more than any other in terminated creator accounts.

Misrepresentation under section 512(f)

Section 512(f) makes anyone who knowingly and materially misrepresents that material is infringing liable for damages, including costs and attorneys’ fees. Exclu’s policy repeats that warning. The same section covers anyone who knowingly misrepresents that material was removed by mistake. A counter notice that claims ownership of a set you bought from another creator is a misrepresentation in the other direction. Raise section 512(f) once, factually, and only where a claim is plainly abusive.

Notices that do not count

In Perfect 10, Inc. v. CCBill LLC, Nos. 04-57143 and 04-57207 (9th Cir., amended May 31, 2007), the Ninth Circuit held that communications missing required section 512(c)(3) elements, such as the sworn statement of authority and the good faith statement, did not substantially comply with the statute. The court also refused to let the claimant combine several defective notices into one valid notice. Read the copy Exclu sends you against the six elements. If the claimant left one out, say so in a short reply and ask Exclu not to count it as a valid notice.

How to File an Exclu Counter Notice Step by Step

The position in every counter notice we draft is one sentence long. The creator owns or is licensed for the material and has a good faith belief that it was removed by mistake or misidentification. Every attachment supports that sentence and nothing else.

Step 1. Read the notice and test the claim

Identify the claimant, the work they name and the exact item removed. Then ask the hard question. Do you own this work outright, or hold a written license for every part of it, including music, images and any other performer’s contribution? If the honest answer is no, do not file. Remove similar material and move to prevention.

Partial ownership needs the same care. A video you filmed can still contain a 20 second clip or a song that belongs to someone else, and the claimant may hold rights in exactly that part. If the notice points to an element you did not create and cannot license, the claim may be valid even though most of the work is yours. Replace the element with licensed material and publish the corrected version as a new item.

Step 2. Name the root cause in one sentence

Reviewers accept a cause that explains why a claim was made against original work. The two we see most are a claimant who reposted or scraped the creator’s original and then filed against it, and an automated match against the creator’s own earlier upload. State which applies and which record shows it. Do not guess at the claimant’s motives.

Step 3. Gather authorship and first publication proof

Collect the original camera or export files with their creation metadata. Add your earliest upload record on Exclu or any other site, with the date. Add anything showing your publication came before the claimant’s copy, such as a dated post or a screenshot of the repost with its upload date. Under section 11 of the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, the author is the first owner of copyright. Proof that you made the work is proof that you own it, unless you signed it away.

Step 4. Write every required element

Missing an element is the most common reason a counter notice stalls. Exclu’s list and the statute’s list differ in one place, so cover both.

What a valid counter notice must contain for Exclu

Identification of the material. The removed item and the Exclu link where it appeared before removal, as section 512(g)(3)(B) requires.
Good faith statement under penalty of perjury. A statement that you have a good faith belief the material was removed as a result of mistake or misidentification, per section 512(g)(3)(C).
Your full legal name, address and telephone number. Exclu’s policy asks for the full legal name.
Consent to jurisdiction. US creators consent to the courts of the district where they live. Creators outside the United States consent to the courts in Nicosia, Cyprus, under Exclu’s policy.
Acceptance of service of process. Section 512(g)(3)(D) adds a statement that you will accept service from the claimant or its agent. Exclu’s list leaves it out, so include it anyway.
Your signature. A physical or electronic signature, per section 512(g)(3)(A).
The notice reference. The date of Exclu’s email and any reference it gave you.

Your name and contact details go to the claimant. If that is a safety concern, for example because the claimant has harassed you before, take advice before you sign.

Step 5. Keep the tone factual

A counter notice is a statutory document. It identifies the material, makes the required statements and attaches proof. Accusations and long backstories add nothing and make a sound file look less reliable. Two paragraphs and a list of attachments is the right length.

Step 6. Send it and track the business day clock

Email the counter notice to contact@exclu.at with a clear subject line such as “DMCA Counter Notification” and the removed item’s link. Exclu’s contact page says the team aims to reply within 2 business days. Mark the send date and count 10 business days and 14 business days forward on a calendar. If the item has not returned by business day 15 and no one has told you about a lawsuit, follow up once and quote your send date.

Step 7. Put preventive records in place

Keep dated source files and publication records for every item, and check for reposts on a schedule. A creator who can produce proof of authorship within an hour is in a far stronger position than one who has to dig for it.

A sample counter notice reviewers can forward

Two counter notices arrive about the same removed video. The first says the claimant is lying and demands the video back today. It has no signature and no jurisdiction statement. The second identifies the video and its Exclu link and carries the good faith statement under penalty of perjury. It also gives the creator’s full legal name, address and phone, the consent to jurisdiction, the service of process statement and a typed signature. Attached are the original file with its creation date and the creator’s first upload record, which predates the claimant’s repost by 11 days. The first is incomplete. The second can be forwarded the day it arrives. Building that second kind of file is the core of our Exclu account reinstatement work.

While the content is down

Leave the removed item down. Do not post a duplicate link to replace it, because a second copy invites a second notice. If buyers ask, tell them the item is temporarily unavailable while a rights question is resolved, and leave the claimant out of it. Keep a dated record of every message about the notice. If another notice arrives in this period, open a separate file for it, because it concerns a distinct work and counts on its own.

Counter Notice Errors That Keep Content Down

Most counter notices that fail do so for reasons the creator controlled.

A draft Exclu counter notice checked against its elements, its ownership proof and its tone, with a missing signature and jurisdiction statement flagged before sending.

Missing statutory elements. No signature, no jurisdiction consent or no penalty of perjury statement. Check all seven items in the list above before you press send.
No ownership proof. A counter notice can be complete on its face and still leave you exposed in court if you cannot show you made the work.
Accusations instead of facts. Anger reads as weakness to a reviewer. Stick to the sworn statements and the attachments.
Countering a valid claim. If you do not own the work, the counter notice is a false sworn statement, and section 512(f) makes you liable for the damages it causes.
Ignoring a false claim. An unanswered claim sits on the record as a valid notice and counts toward termination.
Reuploading the removed item. Posting it again before the window closes looks like disregard for the process and invites a fresh notice.
Claiming fair use without a basis. Asserting fair use for ordinary commercial use of someone else’s song weakens the rest of the file.

If the account has already been terminated

Once the third valid notice lands, the question shifts from one item to the account and the balance. Section 7 of Exclu’s Terms of Service, last updated September 28, 2026, lets Exclu suspend or terminate “with or without notice” and describes no appeal process. Section 17 sets Cyprus law, then 30 days of direct negotiation, then mediation at the Centre de Médiation et d’Arbitrage de Paris (CMAP), then the courts of Nicosia. The Terms also point EU consumers to the EU online dispute resolution platform. The European Commission’s consumer redress site states that platform was discontinued as of 20 July 2025 under Regulation (EU) 2024/3228, so that route no longer exists in practice. If any counted notice was false and never contested, open a counter notice for that item first, because reversing one count reopens the argument. Our guides on recovering earnings after an Exclu termination and requesting release of an Exclu balance cover the account side. Section 3.5 of the Terms sets a withdrawal minimum of $50 for bank accounts in Europe, the US, Canada and Australia and $100 elsewhere, which matters when the remaining balance is small.

When the removal was not a DMCA matter

Section 2.5 of the Terms lets Exclu remove content that breaks the Terms or the law without prior notice, and Section 6.1 says reports of illegal or non-consented content are reviewed and removed within 24 hours. Those removals are not copyright claims, and a counter notice does nothing for them. If your notice cites prohibited content, read our guide on Exclu removals for prohibited content. If it cites missing performer consent, our walkthrough on fixing an Exclu consent flag applies. Check which policy the email names before you choose a response.

Rights Records That Prevent the Next Exclu Notice

Every item you sell on Exclu should have a source file, a first publication record and, for anything you did not create, a written license that covers resale. Section 2.1 of the Terms confirms creators keep ownership of what they upload and grant Exclu a non-exclusive license solely to operate the platform. Ownership stays with you only if you can prove it. With termination at the third valid notice for a distinct work, there is no room for a catalog you cannot document.

Rights documentation checklist for Exclu creators

Original files. The unedited source file for every item, stored with its creation date.
Upload records. The date and site where each item was first published.
Music licenses. The license for every track, with a note of the item it appears in.
Collaboration agreements. A signed agreement with every co-performer covering who owns the set and who may sell it on Exclu.
Purchased content licenses. A written license covering resale for anything you did not make, or no resale at all.
Repost log. Each place you found your work reposted, with the date and a screenshot.
Notice log. Every DMCA notice received, the work it named and whether it was countered and restored.

Audit the catalog before a claimant does

Go through every item and mark anything containing material you did not create. Find the license for each one. Where none exists, take the item down. Done once and kept current, that audit removes most of the valid notices we see.

Monitor for reposts

Leakers file false notices most easily when the creator does not know the work is being copied. A monthly search for your own sets, logged with dates, gives you proof of the repost before the false claim arrives and makes the counter notice faster to build.

Put collaborations in writing

Two creators film together and both sell the set. Two years later one of them, or a new manager, files against the other. Without a written agreement it becomes one word against another. A one page agreement signed before release, naming the owner and who may sell on Exclu, settles it. If one creator hired the other as an employee in the UK, section 11(2) of the 1988 Act makes the employer the first owner unless the agreement says otherwise, so write that down too.

Track your own count

Log every notice with the work it named and its outcome. You should always know whether you sit at zero, one or two valid notices. A creator who learns they are at two only when the third arrives has lost the chance to contest the earlier ones. Agent designations at the Copyright Office expire three years after registration, so if a claimant says they could not find where to send a notice, the public directory at copyright.gov is where a US agent is listed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did Exclu remove my content after a copyright report?

Exclu removed it because its DMCA Agent received a takedown notice it judged valid. A valid notice names the work, the Exclu link and the claimant, and carries sworn statements of good faith and authority. Exclu removes the item on that basis without deciding who owns it, and the counter notice is your answer.

How long does an Exclu counter notice take to restore content?

Restoration comes 10 to 14 business days after Exclu receives a valid counter notice. Section 512(g)(2)(C) sets that window. It stops only if the claimant tells Exclu it has filed a court action against you.

How many DMCA notices before Exclu closes an account?

Three valid notices for three distinct works end the account. Exclu’s DMCA Policy defines a repeat infringer as a user with more than two valid takedown notices for distinct works. Several notices about the same video count as one work.

Where do I send an Exclu counter notice?

Email it to contact@exclu.at, the address Exclu’s DMCA Policy names for counter notices. Use a clear subject line and include the removed item’s link. The DMCA Agent’s postal address is Archiepiskopou Makariou G 56E, Aglantzia 2107, Nicosia, Cyprus.

What if I live outside the United States?

You consent to the courts in Nicosia, Cyprus, instead of a US district court. Exclu’s DMCA Policy sets that rule for counter notices from non-US creators. Every other element stays the same.

How do I prevent copyright claims on Exclu?

Sell only work you made or hold a written resale license for, and keep the source files that prove it. Use licensed music, sign collaboration agreements before release and log every repost you find. Most valid notices we see come from resold content or unlicensed songs.

Get Help With Exclu DMCA Takedowns

A creator with one false claim and clean records can file a counter notice with the steps above. A creator already at two valid notices has no margin, because one more valid notice for a distinct work closes the account under the DMCA Policy. We assemble the authorship record, check the claimant’s notice for missing elements and draft a counter notice that meets both Exclu’s list and section 512(g)(3).

Send the notice to our Exclu reinstatement service for a free assessment, or book a consultation to review your rights records before the next claim arrives. Creators on several subscription platforms can compare every desk on our creator monetization services hub.

How to File an Exclu DMCA Counter Notice and Restore Content