Copyright & IP Complaints

1. What creators must have

Everyone who publishes on Forky must own, or have permission to use, everything in their story: the script, music, video and film clips, images, fonts, voices, performers, and characters. A trademarked character, an existing franchise, a commercial music recording or a film clip is not free to use just because other social apps host similar content. Fan fiction, remixes and adaptations need the rights holder’s permission unless an exception under your local copyright law clearly applies. Content generated with AI tools is held to the same standard. See the Community Guidelines.

2. How to send a notice

If you are a rights holder (or authorised to act for one) and believe content on Forky infringes your copyright or trademark, email admin@ethereallabs.in with the subject “Copyright Notice” and include:

1. your full name, organisation (if any), postal address, email and phone number;
2. a description of the work or mark you say is infringed, with a link to or copy of the original, and proof of ownership or authorisation if available;
3. the exact location of the material on Forky: the story title, episode, the creator’s username, and the in-app share link for each item;
4. why you believe the use is infringing (for example, the music is used without a licence; the clip is from your film);
5. a statement that you believe in good faith that the use is not authorised by the rights holder, their agent or the law;
6. a statement that the information in your notice is accurate and, under penalty of perjury where that applies, that you are the rights holder or authorised to act for them;
7. your physical or electronic signature.

We cannot act on incomplete notices and will ask you for what is missing. Notices sent to other addresses or through social media may be delayed. We accept notices under the Indian Copyright Act, 1957 and the Information Technology Act, 2000, the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the EU Digital Services Act and equivalent laws.

3. What we do with a notice

• We acknowledge every notice within 24 hours.
• For complete notices, we remove or disable access to the material within 36 hours and tell the creator what was removed, why, and who sent the notice (your name and organisation, not your contact details unless the law requires us to share them).
• We may restrict the material while we assess a notice that needs more information.
• We keep a record of the notice and our decision.
• Knowingly false or abusive notices may result in restoration of the content, a record against the sender and, where the law allows, liability for the sender. If you send repeated unfounded notices, we may decline to process further ones.

Where a statutory process with different steps or deadlines applies in your country, that process prevails.

4. Counter-notices

If your content was removed and you believe the removal was a mistake or that you have the rights, you can send a counter-notice to admin@ethereallabs.in with the subject “Copyright Counter-Notice” within 30 days. Include your name and contact details, identification of the removed material, a statement under penalty of perjury (where applicable) that you believe in good faith it was removed by mistake or misidentification, your consent to the jurisdiction of the courts of Bengaluru, India (or your local court where the law provides), and your signature.

We forward counter-notices to the person who sent the original notice. If they do not tell us within 10 business days that they have started legal proceedings, we may restore the content. We do not restore content where restoring it would itself be unlawful.

5. Repeat infringers

We keep a record of substantiated notices against each account. An account that receives three substantiated notices within 12 months loses publishing and monetization privileges; further notices result in permanent closure. Serious single instances, such as uploading an entire film, can lead to immediate closure. Earnings connected to infringing content are withheld. You can appeal a strike through the process in the Community Guidelines.

6. Remixes and branches

A creator on Forky can allow other people to write new branches for their story. When they do:

• the original creator is credited on every remix, and the remix links back to the original;
• the original creator can withdraw remix permission for future remixes at any time; existing remixes stay up unless they break another rule;
• if the original story is deleted, remixes of it are unpublished too, and their creators are notified;
• if a remixed story earns money, the split between the original creator and the remixer is set when remixing is enabled and shown to both before publishing. See the Creator Terms.

Writing a branch for someone else’s story without this permission is not allowed.

7. Trademarks

Do not use another company’s name, logo or branding in a way that suggests they made, sponsor or endorse your story. Trademark complaints follow the same process as copyright notices; use the subject “Trademark Notice” and identify the registration where one exists. Forky, the Forky mark, TokiToki and TokiToki Studio are marks of Ethereal Labs Private Limited; do not use them without written permission.