1. Original work
Publish only work you created or have permission to share. Copying another member’s published story is a copyright violation on iCtory.
2. Check on publish
When you publish, iCtory compares your text with other authors’ published stories. If similarity is 30% or higher, we show a warning with the matched title and percent. You can edit the story, or confirm that you still want to publish. Confirming does not add a strike by itself.
3. Original-author claims
If you publish after a match warning, the original author is notified and can request that the copy be removed, deleted, or removed with a copyright strike. The author must provide evidence for investigation, sign with their full legal name, and agree to the Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, Copyright Policy, and the legal claims of the story. Platform Moderation reviews the claim, the signature, and the evidence. The copy stays live until a superadmin approves.
4. Reporting
Readers can still use the Report button on a story and choose Copyright. The platform team reviews the report, including the similarity score, and may hold the story. A platform hold also counts as a copyright strike for the author.
5. Repeat violations
Three copyright strikes — from an approved owner claim or from a platform hold — lead to a two-week account suspension: no posting and no reading. Separately, if Platform dismisses your copyright claim as not true, that counts as a false claim. Repeated false claims can suspend your account and block you from filing new claims. The platform may also close or permanently suspend an account.