Copyright & Takedown Policy

In plain language (this box is a summary only and is not legally binding). If you believe a game or anything else on Benerits infringes your copyright or trademark, send us a notice with the details listed below and we will review it promptly and remove the content if appropriate. The person who uploaded it will be told and can send a counter-notice if they think we made a mistake. Accounts that infringe repeatedly are terminated. Sending a false notice on purpose can make you legally liable.

1. Purpose and scope

1.1 [BENERITS LEGAL ENTITY NAME] ("Benerits", "we", "us") respects the intellectual property rights of others and requires Publishers, Creators and Players to do the same. This Copyright & Takedown Policy (the "Policy") explains how we handle complaints that material on the Benerits game portal and related services (the "Service") infringes copyright, related rights or trademarks, and forms part of the Player Terms of Service, the Publisher Distribution Agreement and the Creator Programme Terms.

1.2 Games and Game Listings are uploaded by independent Publishers, and User Content is submitted by Players. In respect of such material, Benerits acts as a hosting service provider, including as: (a) a "service provider" storing material at the direction of users within the meaning of 17 U.S.C. §512(c) (the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, "DMCA"); (b) a hosting provider (yer sağlayıcı) within the meaning of Turkish Law No. 5651 on the Regulation of Publications on the Internet and Combating Crimes Committed by Means of Such Publications ("Law No. 5651"); and (c) a hosting service within the meaning of Article 6 of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 (the Digital Services Act, "DSA"). This Policy also implements the notice procedure available to rights holders under Additional Article 4 of Turkish Law No. 5846 on Intellectual and Artistic Works ("FSEK").

1.3 This Policy does not limit any right or remedy available to rights holders under the law, including the right to apply directly to courts or other competent authorities.

2. Definitions

2.1 Capitalised terms not defined here have the meaning given in the Player Terms of Service or the Content Policy. In addition:

• "Complainant" means a person who submits a Notice, whether as the rights holder or as a person authorised to act on its behalf.
• "Counter-Notice" means a response submitted under clause 6 by a person whose material was removed or disabled following a Notice.
• "Notice" means a complaint of infringement submitted under clause 4 or clause 8.
• "Respondent" means the Publisher, Creator or Player who uploaded or submitted the material that is the subject of a Notice.
• "Strike" means a record against a Respondent's Account under clause 7.

3. Our commitments and Publishers' obligations

3.1 Publishers warrant in the Publisher Distribution Agreement that they own or are licensed to use all elements of their Games and Game Listings, and that Games do not infringe third-party rights. Our review process includes checks for apparent infringement, but we are not in a position to determine the ownership of all material in every Game, and our review does not constitute a clearance of rights.

3.2 We act expeditiously to remove or disable access to material upon obtaining knowledge or awareness of its infringing nature through a Notice that meets the requirements of this Policy.

4. Submitting a copyright Notice

4.1 Where to send. Send Notices to our designated agent:

[DMCA DESIGNATED AGENT: name / title, [BENERITS LEGAL ENTITY NAME], postal address, telephone number, email address (e.g. [email protected]) — as registered with the U.S. Copyright Office, DMCA Designated Agent Directory registration no. ___]

You may also send Notices to [CONTACT EMAIL: [email protected]] with the subject line "Copyright Notice", or by post to [REGISTERED ADDRESS]. Notices may be submitted in English or Turkish.

4.2 Required elements (all Notices). To be effective, a Notice must be a written communication that includes substantially the following, as required by 17 U.S.C. §512(c)(3)(A), Article 16(2) of the DSA and Turkish law:

(a) a physical or electronic signature of a person authorised to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed (for Notices under Turkish law, a wet-ink signature, a secure electronic signature under Law No. 5070, or a submission via registered electronic mail (KEP));

(b) identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed or, if multiple works are covered by a single Notice, a representative list of such works;

(c) identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity and that is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled, and information reasonably sufficient to permit us to locate the material, including the exact URL(s) of the Game page, Game Listing or profile concerned and, where relevant, the Game version and the specific asset (for example, an image, sound or level);

(d) information reasonably sufficient to permit us to contact the Complainant, such as name, address, telephone number and email address;

(e) a statement that the Complainant has 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; and

(f) a statement that the information in the Notice is accurate and, under penalty of perjury, that the Complainant is authorised to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

4.3 Additional information for Notices under Turkish law. For Notices relying on the FSEK or Law No. 5651, please also include: (a) for natural persons, your Turkish identity number (for Turkish citizens) or passport number; for legal entities, the trade name, MERSIS or tax number and evidence of signatory authority; (b) evidence of the right claimed (for example, a registration certificate issued by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, a licence agreement, publication records or other documents showing authorship or ownership); and (c) where you act for the rights holder, a power of attorney or letter of authorisation.

4.4 Fair use and exceptions. Before submitting a Notice, you should consider whether the use of the material may be permitted by law, including by the fair use doctrine under 17 U.S.C. §107, the limitations in Articles 30 to 38 of the FSEK, or the exceptions under EU and Member State law (such as quotation, criticism, review, caricature, parody and pastiche).

4.5 Incomplete Notices. If a Notice does not substantially comply with clause 4.2, we may ask the Complainant for the missing information and are not required to act until it is provided. We may nonetheless act on an incomplete Notice where the infringement is manifest.

5. What happens after we receive a Notice

5.1 Review. We review each Notice promptly, diligently and objectively. We aim to decide on Notices concerning Games within [2] business days of receiving a complete Notice. Under Additional Article 4 of the FSEK, where a rights holder has applied for removal of infringing content, removal is to take place within three days.

5.2 Action. If the Notice is valid and the material appears to infringe, we remove or disable access to the material (which, for a Game, may mean removing the affected version, delisting the Game, or restricting it in specific countries). Where only part of a Game is concerned and the Publisher can promptly remove the infringing element, we may instead require the Publisher to submit a corrected version within a short period we set.

5.3 Notification of the Respondent. We promptly notify the Respondent that the material has been removed or disabled, provide a statement of reasons (as described in the Player Terms of Service or the Publisher Distribution Agreement), and provide a copy of the Notice. We may redact the Complainant's personal data other than name and the information necessary to allow the Respondent to respond or to bring proceedings, unless the Complainant has consented to disclosure or the law requires it.

5.4 Notification of the Complainant. We inform the Complainant of our decision and of the redress available to it.

5.5 Revenue. Where a Game is removed following a valid Notice, we may withhold revenue attributable to the Game pending resolution, as provided in the Publisher Distribution Agreement.

5.6 Records. We keep a record of Notices, Counter-Notices and our decisions for the period stated in the Privacy Policy. We may submit Notices to organisations that collect and publish takedown notices for transparency purposes, after removing personal data.

6. Counter-Notices and objections

6.1 DMCA Counter-Notice. If you are a Respondent and believe that material was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification, you may send a Counter-Notice to our designated agent (clause 4.1) that includes substantially the following, as required by 17 U.S.C. §512(g)(3):

(a) your physical or electronic signature;

(b) 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;

(c) a statement under penalty of perjury that you have 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; and

(d) your name, address and telephone number, and 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 your address is outside the United States, for any judicial district in which Benerits may be found, and that you will accept service of process from the Complainant or an agent of the Complainant.

6.2 Handling a DMCA Counter-Notice. Upon receipt of a valid Counter-Notice, we promptly provide a copy to the Complainant and inform it that we will replace the removed material or cease disabling access to it in 10 business days. We replace the removed material or cease disabling access to it not less than 10 nor more than 14 business days after receipt of the Counter-Notice, unless our designated agent first receives notice from the Complainant that it has filed an action seeking a court order to restrain the Respondent from engaging in infringing activity relating to the material on the Service.

6.3 Objections outside the DMCA. Respondents outside the scope of clause 6.1 (including under Turkish or EU law) may object to our decision by email to [CONTACT EMAIL: [email protected]] with the subject line "Copyright objection" within 30 days of being notified, or within any longer period required by law (currently six months under Article 20 of the DSA, where that Article applies to us), stating why they believe the material does not infringe or that they are authorised to use it and providing supporting evidence (for example, a licence). We review objections, may forward them to the Complainant for comment, and reinstate the material where we conclude that the removal was not justified, unless the Complainant has informed us that it has commenced legal proceedings or obtained an order from a court or competent authority. Where material has been removed or blocked pursuant to an order of a court, public prosecutor or other authority, objections must be made through the legal remedies available against that order.

6.4 Counter-Notices do not decide ownership. Reinstating material after a Counter-Notice or objection does not mean that we have taken a position on whether it infringes. Disputes between Complainants and Respondents must be resolved between them or before the competent courts.

7. Repeat infringer policy

7.1 Strikes. We record a Strike against a Respondent's Account each time material it uploaded or submitted is removed or disabled on the basis of a valid Notice, unless the removal is reversed following a Counter-Notice or objection.

7.2 Termination. In accordance with 17 U.S.C. §512(i), in appropriate circumstances we terminate the Accounts of Respondents who are repeat infringers. As a general rule: (a) a Respondent who accumulates three Strikes within any 12-month period will have its Accounts terminated; (b) Strikes expire 12 months after they are recorded; and (c) several Notices concerning the same Game version received at the same time may be treated as a single Strike.

7.3 Egregious cases. We may terminate an Account after a single Strike, or suspend it while we investigate, where the infringement is flagrant or deliberate, including the upload of a Game copied in its entirety from another developer, the re-upload of material previously removed, or infringement on a commercial scale.

7.4 Circumvention. A Respondent whose Account has been terminated under this clause 7 may not open a new Account or publish through another person's Account.

8. Trademark complaints

8.1 Scope. If you believe that a Game, Game Listing, username or other material on the Service uses a trademark in a way that infringes your rights (for example, a Game title or cover art likely to cause confusion with your registered mark), you may submit a trademark Notice. The DMCA counter-notice procedure in clause 6.1 does not apply to trademark complaints.

8.2 Required elements. A trademark Notice must include: (a) your name and contact details and, if you act on behalf of the owner, proof of your authority; (b) the trademark concerned, the country or region of registration, the registration number, and the goods or services and classes covered (or, for an unregistered or well-known mark, evidence of the rights relied on); (c) the exact URL(s) and a description of the material that allegedly infringes; (d) an explanation of why the use infringes your rights, including under Turkish Industrial Property Law No. 6769, Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 or other applicable law; (e) a statement of good-faith belief that the use is not authorised by the trademark owner, its agent or the law; (f) a statement that the information in the Notice is accurate; and (g) your physical or electronic signature.

8.3 Handling. We review trademark Notices and may: (a) where the infringement is clear, remove or disable access to the material immediately; or (b) where it is not clear, notify the Respondent and give it a reasonable opportunity (normally 5 business days) to respond, amend the material or provide evidence of its right to use the mark, before we decide. We notify both parties of our decision and the reasons, and the objection procedure in clause 6.3 applies. Clause 7 applies to trademark infringement in the same way as to copyright infringement.

9. Abuse of process

9.1 Liability for misrepresentation. Under 17 U.S.C. §512(f), any person who knowingly materially misrepresents that material is infringing, or that material was removed or disabled by mistake or misidentification, may be liable for damages, including costs and attorneys' fees, incurred by the alleged infringer, the rights holder or Benerits. Knowingly false Notices or Counter-Notices may also give rise to civil liability under Article 49 of the Turkish Code of Obligations No. 6098 and to criminal liability under applicable law, and may constitute a misuse of the Service.

9.2 Our measures. We may, after a prior warning, suspend for a reasonable period the processing of Notices, Counter-Notices and objections from any person who frequently submits Notices or objections that are manifestly unfounded, in accordance with clause 12 of the Content Policy and Article 23 of the DSA. We may disregard Notices that are submitted in bulk without regard to the requirements of clause 4.2, that are used to suppress criticism, competition or lawful content, or that impersonate a rights holder, and we may report fraudulent Notices to the competent authorities.

9.3 Anti-competitive use. Publishers must not use this Policy to target competing Games without a genuine claim of infringement. Such conduct is a breach of the Publisher Distribution Agreement.

10. Changes

10.1 We may update this Policy from time to time, including to reflect changes in law or in our designated agent's details. The version number and effective date at the top show when it was last updated. Material changes are notified in accordance with the Player Terms of Service and the Publisher Distribution Agreement.

11. Contact and language

11.1 Designated agent: see clause 4.1. General legal enquiries: [CONTACT EMAIL: [email protected]]. Post: [BENERITS LEGAL ENTITY NAME], [REGISTERED ADDRESS].

11.2 This Policy is available in English and Turkish, and the two versions are intended to be substantively identical. In case of conflict: for Turkish consumers, the Turkish version prevails; for Publishers and Creators, the English version prevails; in all other cases, the English version prevails, except where applicable law requires otherwise.