You sent a takedown notice, the copy came down, and now the site has forwarded you a "counter-notice." The person who posted your work says the removal was a mistake. Here is what that means, how the timeline works, and what you can do.
What a counter-notice is
A counter-notice is the poster's answer to your takedown. U.S. copyright law (17 U.S.C. 512(g)) lets them ask the site to put the material back if they believe it was removed "as a result of mistake or misidentification." The Copyright Office gives examples, such as when the poster has "a valid license to use the work" or the material "does not include the work the rightsholder claims to have been infringed."
A counter-notice is not a lawsuit, and it doesn't mean the poster is right. It is a formal statement, made under penalty of perjury, that starts a countdown.
What a valid counter-notice has to include
Under 512(g)(3), a counter-notice must be in writing, go to the site's designated agent, and include "substantially" these four things:
- "A physical or electronic signature of the subscriber."
- "Identification of the material that has been removed or to which access has been disabled and the location at which the material appeared before it was removed or access to it was disabled."
- "A statement under penalty of perjury that the subscriber has a good faith belief that the material was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification of the material to be removed or disabled."
- The poster's "name, address, and telephone number," a statement that they consent to the jurisdiction of the federal district court for the judicial district where their address is (or, if their address is outside the U.S., "any judicial district in which the service provider may be found"), and a statement that they "will accept service of process" from the person who sent the original notice or that person's agent.
Item 4 means a complete counter-notice names the poster, gives an address, and says where they agree to be sued and served with court papers. The site has to send you a copy, so you should see these details. If they are missing or blacked out, ask the site, or ask your lawyer. Keep the copy safe and handle the poster's details carefully.
The timeline: the 10 to 14 business day window
Here is the order of events the law sets out in 512(g)(2):
- The site removes the material after your notice and takes "reasonable steps promptly to notify" the poster.
- The poster sends a counter-notice to the site.
- The site sends you a copy. It must "promptly" give you a copy and tell you "that it will replace the removed material or cease disabling access to it in 10 business days."
- The site may put the material back "not less than 10, nor more than 14, business days following receipt of the counter notice," unless its designated agent first receives notice from you "that such person has filed an action seeking a court order to restrain the subscriber from engaging in infringing activity relating to the material." The law doesn't force the site to restore, but restoring on this schedule is how the site keeps its legal protection, so expect it.
Two details catch people out:
- The clock starts when the site receives the counter-notice, not when you read it. If the forward reaches you a few days late, you have less time than you think.
- Business days, not calendar days. Ten business days is about two working weeks. The law doesn't define "business days." Weekends don't count, and public holidays may not either, so count carefully and check the dates with your lawyer.
Following this process is how the site keeps its legal protection. The site isn't deciding who is right. It is following the process.
What you can do
1. Read it carefully. Check whether it has all four parts. Then ask yourself honestly: could the poster be right? Did you license this use to them, maybe through a promoter or collaborator? Is it on a review, news or commentary page that might be fair use? Is it actually your work?
2. If your notice was a mistake, don't push it. Write to the site, withdraw the notice, and say it may restore the material. The law has no formal withdrawal step and the site decides what happens next. Withdrawing doesn't erase the notice, but doing it quickly shows good faith. Keeping a notice going that you know is false carries real risk. Under 512(f), anyone who "knowingly materially misrepresents" that material is infringing can be liable for damages, "including costs and attorneys' fees." The same rule applies to a poster who knowingly lies in a counter-notice.
3. If you still believe it's infringing, talk to a lawyer now. Under 512(g), what keeps the material from going back up is notice, received by the site's designated agent before it restores, that you have filed a court action seeking an order to stop the poster from infringing. The Copyright Office puts it this way: "you may file a case in federal court seeking a court order to prevent the poster from continuing to infringe your work." For U.S. works, the Copyright Office notes that you generally need a copyright registration before you can sue, which takes time. The Copyright Office offers faster "special handling" of a registration when you are facing litigation, for an extra fee. One more reason to move fast.
4. Know the other routes. The Copyright Office mentions the Copyright Claims Board, a voluntary small claims forum for copyright disputes "up to $30,000 total," as an alternative to federal court. The Board is not a court, and it can't order someone to stop unless they agree, so a Board claim may not count as the court action the 10 to 14 day rule describes. Some platforms accept one under their own rules. YouTube, for example, lists a Copyright Claims Board claim as acceptable evidence of legal action when the uploader is based in the U.S. Ask your lawyer before you rely on it.
5. Let it go, if that's the right call. You don't have to do anything. If you take no action, the site can restore the material after the window. That can be a sensible choice when the use is borderline or the copy matters less than the cost of a fight.
6. Don't just send the same notice again. The law has no step where resending the same notice for the same material restarts the window. The counter-notice process is the law's answer to a dispute, and the next step is a court action or letting it go.
7. Keep records. Save your original notice, the counter-notice, the dates you received each one, and screenshots of the material.
If your own post was taken down
Sometimes it goes the other way, and a takedown hits something you posted. The Copyright Office says a takedown notice "does not mean you are being sued," and that you have two options: "do nothing and allow the material to stay offline," or send a counter-notice if you believe it was removed by mistake or misidentification. The same four elements apply, and so does the perjury warning. Before you send one, know that a counter-notice must include your name, address and phone number, the site sends a copy to the person who sent the takedown, and you agree to be sued in a U.S. federal court and to accept court papers from them. The Copyright Office has a sample counter-notice form on its section 512 page. If someone is using a takedown against your own work, talk to a lawyer before you respond.
What a counter-notice doesn't decide
A counter-notice doesn't settle who owns the work. A restored post doesn't mean you lost your copyright, and a removed one doesn't mean you won. Deciding who owns the work, or whether a use infringes, is for a court or, in some cases, the Copyright Claims Board. Search engines run their own version of the process too. Google, for example, accepts counter-notices for Web Search and says that when it receives one, it "may reinstate the material in question."
How LeakVoid handles counter-notices
LeakVoid is being built to send creators' signed takedown notices and show whether each link is still up. When a counter-notice comes in, LeakVoid pauses that item and forwards it to you straight away. It never resends the notice on its own, and it doesn't argue with the poster. What to do next is your decision, and LeakVoid can't advise you on it. A lawyer can.
LeakVoid is open. See how it works, read our guide on how to send a DMCA takedown notice, or browse all our guides.
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Sources
All checked Fri 2026-10-23.
- 1. 17 U.S.C. 512, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/512 (subsections (f) and (g)) (cross-check copy)
- 1A. 17 U.S.C. 512, United States Code, 2024 Edition, U.S. Government Publishing Office (official text, used for every statute quote): https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2024-title17/html/USCODE-2024-title17-chap5-sec512.htm
- 2. U.S. Copyright Office, "Section 512 of Title 17: Resources on Online Service Provider Safe Harbors and Notice-and-Takedown System" (overview and FAQs): https://www.copyright.gov/512/
- 3. U.S. Copyright Office, DMCA Designated Agent Directory: https://www.copyright.gov/dmca-directory/
- 4. Google, "Digital Millennium Copyright Act" (Legal Help, counter notification section): https://support.google.com/legal/answer/1120734
- 5. YouTube Help, "Respond to a counter notification" (CCB claim accepted as evidence of legal action; 10 US business days): https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/12497556
- 6. Copyright Claims Board, "Claimant Information" ("The Board cannot order the respondent to cease or modify an activity unless the respondent agrees to it"): https://ccb.gov/claimant/
- 7. U.S. Copyright Office, Circular 10, "Special Handling" (expedited registration for "Pending or prospective litigation"): https://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ10.pdf
How this page is made
This guide's facts were checked against the sources listed above as of the "Last reviewed" date at the top of the page, and those sources may have changed since. This is a check against sources, not a legal review. It has no person byline. Our editorial policy explains how guides are made, sourced, checked and corrected. If you find a mistake, write to hello@leakvoid.com.