Copyright & Takedown Policy

1. Our principles

PastPapers Hub is a student-first marketplace for revision material. We respect the intellectual property rights of universities, lecturers, students and publishers, and we expect every contributor to do the same. Commercial resale of material you do not own is not permitted, and "it was for study" is not a defence on its own under the Kenya Copyright Act (2022 revision).

To keep the platform compliant, every upload is checked before approval, and we respond promptly to valid infringement notices.

2. Contributor obligations

When you upload material, you confirm that:

• you own the copyright, or you have written permission from the rights holder;
• the material does not reproduce a third party's work beyond what is permitted by law;
• you have removed any personal data (student names, IDs, marks) that shouldn't be published;
• the material is not already listed under another account.

Uploads that fail these checks may be rejected, and accounts that repeatedly infringe may be suspended.

3. Reporting infringement (takedown notice)

If you believe material on PastPapers Hub infringes your copyright, send a written notice to support@pastpapers.test with the subject line "Copyright Notice". The notice must include:

1. your full name, postal address, email and phone number;
2. a description of the copyrighted work you claim has been infringed;
3. the exact URL(s) or material ID(s) of the allegedly infringing material;
4. a statement that you have a good-faith belief the use is not authorised by the rights holder, its agent or the law;
5. a statement that the information in your notice is accurate and that you are the rights holder or authorised to act on their behalf;
6. your physical or electronic signature.

We will acknowledge valid notices within 2 business days, temporarily restrict access while we investigate, and remove material confirmed as infringing. The contributor will be notified and given an opportunity to respond.

4. Counter-notice

If your material was removed and you believe it was removed in error, you may file a counter-notice with the same details as above, stating under penalty of perjury that the removal was a mistake or misidentification, and consenting to the jurisdiction of the Kenyan courts. We will forward the counter-notice to the original complainant and, subject to law, may restore the material after 10–14 business days if the complainant has not filed a court action.

5. Repeat infringers

Accounts that receive two or more valid infringement notices will be suspended and their remaining uploads removed. Serious or repeated infringement may lead to permanent termination and, where appropriate, referral to the rights holder or authorities.

6. Fair use & study material

In many jurisdictions — including Kenya — limited use of copyrighted works for private study, criticism, review or teaching may be permitted under a fair-dealing or similar exception. That does not automatically allow redistribution or commercial resale. Contributors should not rely on "educational use" as a blanket justification.

Where a university, lecturer or publisher has published material under an open licence (for example Creative Commons), the terms of that licence must be respected. Uploads must include the required attribution.

7. Records & retention

We maintain records of takedown notices, counter-notices, and the decisions we make, for at least 3 years. These records help us demonstrate good-faith compliance and identify repeat infringers.

8. Contact

Copyright correspondence: support@pastpapers.test
Subject line: "Copyright Notice"

For general enquiries, use the same address with the subject "Copyright enquiry".