DMCA Policy — Hermes Data Infrastructure

1. Nature of Service

Hermes Data Infrastructure (a DBA of Very Good Engineering LLC) operates a wholesale residential and mobile proxy node service. Hermes provides IP transit infrastructure to upstream business partners. Those partners route their customers' internet traffic through Hermes nodes.

Hermes functions as a transmission conduit only. It does not:

• Host, store, or cache content accessed through its infrastructure
• Select which internet destinations are contacted
• Modify the content of transmissions
• Retain copies of transmitted content beyond what is technically necessary for the transmission itself
• Have a direct contractual or service relationship with end users whose traffic transits Hermes nodes

Because Hermes is a pure transmission intermediary, content takedown requests directed at hosted material are not applicable — Hermes has no hosted content to remove. Notices concerning content that is transmitted through (not stored by) Hermes will be processed under this policy.

2. Safe Harbor Posture — 17 U.S.C. § 512(a)

Hermes claims safe harbor protection under 17 U.S.C. § 512(a) — Transitory Digital Network Communications (the "conduit" exemption of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act). This provision protects service providers whose network functions as a conduit for third-party transmissions.

The § 512(a) safe harbor applies where:

• The transmission is initiated by a person other than the service provider (§ 512(a)(1))
• The routing or connection is carried out by an automatic technical process, without selection of the material by the service provider (§ 512(a)(2))
• The service provider does not select the recipients of the material (§ 512(a)(3))
• No copy of the material is made by the service provider in a manner ordinarily accessible to anyone other than the anticipated recipients, and no copy is maintained on the system longer than is reasonably necessary for the transmission (§ 512(a)(4)–(5))

Hermes's infrastructure satisfies each of these conditions.

Important distinction: The notice-and-takedown mechanism described in § 512(c)(3) applies specifically to hosting providers. Hermes is not a hosting provider and does not receive § 512(c) takedown obligations. Parties seeking removal of hosted content should contact the hosting provider directly. Hermes will, however, accept and process formatted infringement notices under this policy as described below.

3. Designated DMCA Agent

Hermes has registered a designated agent with the U.S. Copyright Office as required by 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(2).

U.S. Copyright Office Registration ID: DMCA-1071902

The contact information above matches the registration on file with the U.S. Copyright Office. DMCA infringement notices must be sent to this agent. Notices sent to other addresses or contacts will not be considered properly submitted.

4. How to Submit a Copyright Infringement Notice

To submit a valid notice under 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(3), your written communication must include all six of the following elements:

1. Signature — A physical or electronic signature of the copyright owner or a person authorized to act on the owner's behalf.
2. Identification of copyrighted work — Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed. If multiple works are covered by a single notice, a representative list is sufficient.
3. Identification of infringing material — Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing and information reasonably sufficient to permit Hermes to locate the material (e.g., IP address, date and time of observed transmission, destination URL or hostname).
4. Contact information — Your name, address, telephone number, and email address.
5. Good faith statement — A statement that you have a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.
6. Accuracy statement — A statement that the information in the notice is accurate, and, under penalty of perjury, that you are the copyright owner or are authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner.

Send notices to:
dmca@hrmes.info
or
DMCA Agent, Very Good Engineering LLC
3155 Columbia Blvd #1080, Titusville, FL 32780

Notices that are missing required elements are defective and may not be actioned. Hermes reserves the right to request clarification or supplemental information before processing an incomplete notice.

5. What Happens After We Receive a Notice

Because Hermes is a conduit provider — not a hosting provider — the standard "take down and replace" process under § 512(c) does not apply to Hermes's infrastructure.

Upon receipt of a properly completed notice, Hermes will:

1. Log the notice (date of receipt, claimant, identified work, identified transmission information).
2. Review the notice for completeness and validity.
3. Forward the notice to the relevant upstream partner for their awareness and handling, where the notice provides sufficient information to identify the partner.
4. Take action under the repeat-infringer policy below if the notice is part of a pattern attributable to a specific partner.

Hermes does not guarantee any particular response time or outcome beyond what is required under applicable law.

6. Counter-Notification Procedure

If you are an upstream partner who believes that a notice submitted to Hermes was based on a mistake or misidentification, you may submit a counter-notification. A valid counter-notification under 17 U.S.C. § 512(g)(3) must include:

1. Signature — Your physical or electronic signature.
2. Identification of removed or disabled material — Identification of the material as it existed prior to removal or action, and the location where it appeared.
3. Statement under penalty of perjury — A statement under penalty of perjury that you have a good faith belief that the material was removed or action was taken as a result of mistake or misidentification.
4. Consent to jurisdiction — 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 outside the United States, any judicial district in which Hermes may be found), and that you will accept service of process from the party who submitted the original notice or their agent.

Send counter-notifications to the same designated agent address listed in Section 3.

7. Repeat-Infringer Policy

In accordance with 17 U.S.C. § 512(i), Hermes maintains and enforces a policy for addressing repeat copyright infringement.

Because Hermes operates on a wholesale B2B model and does not have direct relationships with end users, this policy operates at the partner level:

• Hermes tracks DMCA notices received and, where the transmission evidence permits, associates them with the upstream partner whose traffic was involved.
• A partner whose downstream end-user activity generates a pattern of valid copyright infringement notices — following Hermes's review and, as appropriate, notification to the partner — is subject to suspension or termination of the services agreement.
• Hermes reserves the right to terminate any partner relationship, at its sole discretion, where the partner has failed to take appropriate steps to address repeated infringement by its downstream users after notification.
• Hermes does not interfere with standard technical measures used by copyright owners to identify or protect copyrighted works.

Partners are required, under their Master Services Agreement with Hermes, to maintain their own repeat-infringer policies applicable to their downstream users.

8. Important Warnings to Notice Senders

Misrepresentation carries legal consequences. Under 17 U.S.C. § 512(f), any person who knowingly materially misrepresents that material or activity is infringing, or that material was removed by mistake, is liable for any resulting damages, including costs and attorneys' fees.

Do not submit notices in bad faith. A notice submitted without a genuine good faith belief that the identified use is infringing — including notices submitted for competitive, harassment, or censorship purposes — may expose the sender to liability.

This page is not legal advice. If you are unsure whether your use qualifies as infringement or fair use, consult a licensed intellectual property attorney.