Copyright Policy

The short version

Watchems is a community gallery for real wrist shots taken by real watch owners. We take copyright seriously. If you see something on the site that you believe infringes your copyright, tell us and we'll look into it quickly. If we remove content of yours that you think shouldn't have been removed, you can push back — there's a process for that too.

Watchems is operated from Canada and serves a global audience. This policy is designed to comply with the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), Canada's Notice-and-Notice regime, and to be compatible with EU and UK copyright frameworks.

What users can upload

By uploading a photo to Watchems, you confirm that you took it yourself, or that you have the clear right to share it. Press photos, images scraped from other sites, photos lifted from Instagram or Reddit without permission, and any other content you don't own are not allowed.

We moderate every upload before it goes live, but moderation is not a substitute for honest attribution. If you're not the photographer, don't upload it.

If you're a rights holder: how to file a takedown notice

If you believe content on Watchems infringes a copyright you own or represent, send a written notice to our designated copyright agent (below) that includes all of the following:

1. Your physical or electronic signature (typing your full legal name at the end of the email is fine).
2. A clear identification of the copyrighted work you believe has been infringed. If there are several, a representative list is fine.
3. The exact URL(s) on watchems.com of the material you want removed, specific enough that we can find it without guessing.
4. Your full name, mailing address, telephone number, and an email address where we can reach you.
5. A statement that you have a good-faith belief that the use of the material is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.
6. A statement, made under penalty of perjury, that the information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on the owner's behalf.

Incomplete notices may be ignored or returned with a request for clarification. Notices that are obviously sent in bad faith — for example, to silence criticism or remove a competitor's legitimate content — may be rejected, and the sender may face legal consequences under 17 U.S.C. § 512(f).

Designated copyright agent

Send copyright notices to our designated agent. We respond to valid notices promptly — usually within a few business days.

Name: Ricardo Gusman Brandao
Email: hello@watchems.com
Location: Canada
DMCA Registration: DMCA-1071343

Email is the fastest way to reach us. Please put "DMCA Notice" or "Copyright Claim" in the subject line.

What happens after we receive a valid notice

Once we confirm a notice is valid, we'll remove or disable access to the identified content and notify the user who uploaded it, passing along the substance of the complaint. This is how the DMCA safe harbor works in the U.S. and it also lines up with Canada's Notice-and-Notice requirements, under which platforms must forward copyright notices to the allegedly infringing user.

We do not disclose the uploader's personal information in response to a takedown notice. A separate legal process (such as a court order) would be required for that.

If your content was removed: counter-notice process

If we took down one of your photos and you believe it was a mistake — for example, the notice named the wrong photo, you actually do own the copyright, or your use was authorized — you can send us a counter-notice. Email our copyright agent with:

1. Your physical or electronic signature.
2. Identification of the content that was removed and the URL where it used to appear.
3. A statement under penalty of perjury that you have a good-faith belief the content was removed as a result of mistake or misidentification.
4. Your full name, mailing address, and phone number.
5. A statement consenting to the jurisdiction of the federal court for the judicial district where you live (or, if you live outside the U.S., any judicial district where Watchems may be found), and that you will accept service of process from the person who filed the original notice.

After we receive a valid counter-notice, we'll forward it to the original complainant. If they don't file a court action seeking to restrain your content within about 10–14 business days, we may restore the content.

Repeat infringers

We terminate the accounts of users who repeatedly upload content that infringes someone else's copyright. "Repeatedly" generally means after multiple valid notices, but in egregious cases — for example, a user systematically uploading stolen press photos — we may terminate an account after a single incident.

Termination means the account is closed, existing uploads are removed, and the user is not permitted to create a new account. We may also report serious or commercial-scale infringement to the relevant authorities.

A note for EU and UK users

Watchems operates as a hosting service. Under the EU Digital Services Act and the UK's equivalent framework, we act on valid notices of illegal content — including copyright infringement — and provide a path for affected users to contest removals. The takedown and counter-notice processes above apply regardless of where you're located. If you're in the EU or UK and need a different channel, email our copyright agent and we'll work with you.

Questions?

This page is intentionally short and direct. If something isn't clear, or your situation doesn't fit neatly into the buckets above, email our copyright agent at hello@watchems.com and we'll help figure it out.