This Intellectual Property Policy was last updated on September 4, 2020.
IKNOWLEDGY is a technology platform that enables anyone anywhere to create
and share educational courses. We host courses on our online learning
marketplace. Our marketplace model means we do review but we do not edit the
courses for legal issues, and we are not in a position to determine the
legality of course content. However, it is important to us those instructors
posting courses on IKNOWLEDGY respect the intellectual property of others. When
instructors post courses on our marketplace, they make the promise that they
have the necessary authorization or rights to use all the content contained in
their courses.
Infringing activity is not tolerated on or through our platform.
This policy addresses what we do in the event of copyright infringement
reports from content owners and trademark infringement claims from trademark
owners with respect to the courses on the IKNOWLEDGY platform. The policy also
addresses what we do when IKNOWLEDGY instructors’ courses are copied on
third-party platforms without their consent.
Third-Party Copyright Infringement Reports
IKNOWLEDGY’s policy is to remove courses from our service when they are
reported as infringing in a copyright infringement notice received from the
owner of the original content. It is also our policy to remove all courses from
any instructor who is determined to be a repeat infringer (for whom IKNOWLEDGY has
received more than two valid takedown notices). We reserve the right to
terminate an instructor’s account at any time, including when they post content
in violation of the copyrights of others.
How to File a Report
If you would like to report a course on the IKNOWLEDGY marketplace and if you
are the owner or the designated agent of the owner of the rights to the content
that you believe the course is infringing, the most efficient way is to use
this form
(form in English only).
Before you submit a copyright infringement report, please remember these important
things:
1. We cannot process a copyright claim that is not submitted
by the owner of the copyright or its designated agent. This is
because we have no way of knowing whether the instructor who published the
course you are reporting has received proper permission from the owner to use
the content. We will ask you to provide an electronic signature to confirm that
you are the copyright owner or have authority to represent the copyright owner
(including if the copyright owner is an organization).
2. Your copyright claim
has to be sufficiently substantiated for us be able to address it.
This means:
1. You provide sufficient information for
us to contact you, including your full legal name, an email address, physical
address, and (optional) telephone number.
2. If you are filing a report on behalf of
an organization, you include the name of the organization and your relationship
to the organization.
3. You precisely identify the original
copyrighted material or, if multiple copyrighted works are covered in your notification,
you provide a sufficiently representative list of such original material (such
as a URL where the material is located);
4. You provide sufficient information for
us to locate the reportedly infringing course(s) on the IKNOWLEDGY site (the URL
on our website and the exact name of the course and instructor;
5. You add a statement saying: “I declare,
under penalty of perjury, that the information in this complaint is accurate
and that I am the copyright owner or am authorized to act on the copyright
owner's behalf and I 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”.
3. Knowingly submitting
a false or misleading claim of infringement is illegal and you could be held liable
and have to pay damages as a result. IKNOWLEDGY reserves the
right to seek damages from anyone who submits a notification of claimed
infringement in violation of the law.
4. There are types of
content that are not protected by copyright. Copyright law doesn’t
cover short phrases (like business names, book titles, and slogans), intangible
concepts (like processes, ideas, and recipes), or facts. Before you submit a
copyright claim, make sure that the content copied in the course is indeed
protected by copyright.
5. Consider whether the
use of your material in the course is “fair use”. Copyright law
includes a “fair use” exception for certain uses of copyrighted content that
are considered to be in the public interest. Fair use covers things like
criticism, commentary, news reporting, and research. In considering whether a
course’s use of your material qualifies as fair use, you should look at:
1. The purpose of the use (whether the
course is paid or unpaid, whether the course critiques/parodies/transforms your
material)
2. The type of copyrighted work being used
(whether your work is factual or creative)
3. The portion being used (whether the
course uses small, necessary excerpts of your material or substantial portions
of it)
4. The effect on the market for your
material (whether potential buyers would purchase the course instead of your
material)
Before you submit a copyright claim, make sure that
use of the content copied in the course does not qualify as fair use.
Counter-Notification
If we receive a valid copyright violation report, we will send a copy of
that report to the instructor who posted the reported course along with a
notification that 1) the course was reported for copyright infringement and 2)
we are removing the course from the IKNOWLEDGY service. We will also attach a
form that the instructor can fill in and send back to us to submit a
counter-notification. If your course has been reported for copyright
infringement and removed from the IKNOWLEDGY service, and if you believe we made
a mistake or that you have permission from the owner of the reported content to
use such content in your course, then you may send us a counter-notification.
The best way to provide us with a counter-notification is to fill in the
form we provided you and send it back to the IKNOWLEDGY designated agent or the
copyright team member who notified you. To be effective, a counter notification
must be in writing and include the following information:
1. Your physical or electronic signature.
2. Your name, address, and email address or
telephone number.
3. Identification of the course that was
removed and the location (URL) at which it appeared before it was removed (you
can access this information from the copyright infringement report filed
against your course, we always attach a copy when we notify you).
4. A statement under penalty of perjury that
you have a good faith belief that the material was removed or disabled as a
result of mistake or misidentification of the material to be removed or
disabled.
5. A statement that you consent to (1) IKNOWLEDGY
sharing your name and contact information with the claimant; (2) receiving
service of process for any legal action by the claimant or an agent of the
claimant.
Knowingly submitting a false or misleading
counter-notification to a claim of infringement is illegal and you could be
held liable and have to pay damages as a result. IKNOWLEDGY reserves
the right to seek damages from any party that submits a counter-notification of
claimed infringement or counter notification in violation of the law.
Third-Party Trademark Infringement Reports
IKNOWLEDGY’s policy is to remove courses from our service when they are
reported as infringing a third-party trademark. We also reserve the right to
terminate an instructor’s account at any time, including when they post content
in violation of the trademark rights of others.
How to Submit a Trademark Infringement Report
The fastest and easiest way to submit a report of trademark infringement to
us is to send a notice to the Designated Agent containing the information
identified below. Please note that a copy of your notice will be sent to the
party who posted the content you are reporting. Before you submit a trademark
infringement report, please remember these important things:
1. Your trademark claim
has to be sufficiently substantiated for us be able to address it.
This means your communication must include substantially the following:
1. Your complete contact information (full
name, mailing address, and email or phone number).
2. The specific word, symbol, etc. for
which you claim trademark rights.
3. The basis for your claim of trademark
rights (such as a national or community registration), including registration
number, if applicable.
4. The country or jurisdiction in which you
claim trademark rights.
5. The category of goods and/or services
for which you assert rights.
6. Sufficient information for us to locate
the material on IKNOWLEDGY that you believe violates your trademark rights (web
addresses/URLs of the allegedly infringing content).
7. A description of how you believe this
content infringes your trademark.
8. If you are not the rights holder, an
explanation of your relationship to the rights holder.
9. The following statement: “I have a good
faith belief that use of the trademark as described above in the manner
complained of is not authorized by the trademark owner, its agent, or the law.”
10. The following statement: "The
information in this notice is accurate, and I declare, under penalty of
perjury, that I am the owner or authorized to act on behalf of the owner of a
trademark that is allegedly infringed."
11. Your electronic signature
("/s/" followed by your full name, e.g., "/s/ john Adams")
or physical signature.
2. Submitting a false or
misleading claim of infringement could result in liability for you.
IKNOWLEDGY reserves the right to seek damages from any party that submits a
false or misleading notification of claimed trademark infringement.
3. Consider whether the
use of your trademark in the course is “nominative fair use”.
Trademark law protects the use of a name or brand for selling products and
services, with the goal of preventing consumer confusion. Most countries’ laws
include an exception for “fair use”, which allows others to use a trademark for
factually referencing the trademarked product or service, or commenting on or
criticizing the mark. Consider the likelihood that others would be confused
into thinking that your company or brand had created or is sponsoring the
course. Before you submit a trademark claim, make sure that use of your
trademark in the course does not qualify as fair use.
Designated Agent Contact Information
IKNOWLEDGY’s Designated Agent for notices of reported infringement can be
contacted in the following manner:
1. By filling the copyright report form
(for copyright infringement reports only)
