Introduction

Kowcha responds to copyright complaints submitted under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”). Section 512 of the DMCA outlines the statutory requirements necessary for formally reporting copyright infringement, as well as providing instructions on how an affected party can appeal a removal by submitting a compliant counter-notice.

Kowcha will respond to reports of alleged copyright infringement, such as allegations concerning the unauthorized sale and distribution of copyrighted material, and allegations concerning the unauthorized use of a copyrighted video or image uploaded through our media hosting services. Note that not all unauthorized uses of copyrighted materials are infringements (see our for more information here, here, and here). 

Am I a copyright holder? How do I know?

If you are unsure whether you hold rights to a particular work, please consult a lawyer or another adviser as Kowcha cannot provide legal advice. There are plenty of resources to learn more about copyright law including http://copyright.gov, and http://www.eff.org/issues/bloggers/legal/liability/IP , to name a few. 

What to consider before submitting a copyright complaint

Before submitting a copyright complaint to us, please consider whether or not the use could be considered fair use.

Before submitting a formal complaint with Kowcha, please be aware that under 17 U.S.C. § 512(f), you may be liable for any damages, including costs and lawyers’ fees incurred by us or our users, if you knowingly materially misrepresent that material or activity is infringing. If you are unsure whether the material you are reporting is infringing, you may wish to contact a lawyer before filing a notification with us
Note: If you’re unsure whether or not you own the copyrights to a work, or if you’re infringing upon someone else’s work, please consult a lawyer or another advisor. 

What information do you need to process a copyright complaint?

To submit a notice of claimed copyright infringement, you will need to provide us with the following information:

A physical or electronic signature (typing your full name will suffice) of the copyright owner or a person authorized to act on their behalf

Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed (e.g., a link to your original work or clear description of the materials allegedly being infringed upon)

Identification of the infringing material and information reasonably sufficient to permit Kowcha to locate the material on our website or services

Your contact information, including your address, telephone number, and an email address

A statement that you have a good faith belief that the use of the material in the manner asserted is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law

A statement that the information in the complaint is accurate, and, under penalty of perjury, that you are authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner

What information do you need to process a copyright complaint?

To submit a notice of claimed copyright infringement, you will need to provide us with the following information:

A physical or electronic signature (typing your full name will suffice) of the copyright owner or a person authorized to act on their behalf

Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed (e.g., a link to your original work or clear description of the materials allegedly being infringed upon)

Identification of the infringing material and information reasonably sufficient to permit Kowcha to locate the material on our website or services

Your contact information, including your address, telephone number, and an email address

A statement that you have a good faith belief that the use of the material in the manner asserted is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law

A statement that the information in the complaint is accurate, and, under penalty of perjury, that you are authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner

How do I file a copyright complaint?

You can report alleged copyright infringement by sending an email to copyright@Kowcha.com.

How are claims processed?

We process copyright complaints in the order in which they are received. Once you've sent your email, we will email you a confirmation. If you do not receive a confirmation that means we did not receive your complaint and you should re-submit your complaint. However, please note, submitting duplicate copyright complaints will result in a delay in processing.

If we decide to remove or disable access to the material, we will notify the affected user(s) and provide them with a full copy of the reporter’s complaint along with instructions on how to file a counter-notice.

What information gets forwarded to the reported user(s)?

If we remove or disable access to the materials reported in a copyright complaint, the reported user(s) will receive a copy of the complaint.

What happens next?

Kowcha’s response to copyright complaints may include the removal or restriction of access to the allegedly infringing material. Suppose we remove or restrict access to user content in response to a copyright complaint. In that case, Kowcha will make a good faith effort to contact the affected account holder with information concerning the removal or restriction of access, including a full copy of the complaint, along with instructions for filing a counter-notice

If you’ve not yet received a copy of the copyright complaint regarding the content removed from your account, please respond to the support email we sent you.
In an effort to be as transparent as possible regarding the removal or restriction of access to creator-posted content, we clearly mark flagged/taken down content to indicate to viewers when content has been withheld (examples below).

My content was removed from Kowcha

Why did I receive a copyright complaint?

If you receive a copyright complaint, it means that access to the content described in the complaint has been restricted. Please take the time to read through our correspondence to you, which includes information on the complaint we received as well as instructions on how to file a counter-notice. Please ensure that you are monitoring the email address associated with your Kowcha account.

Tip: Removing the material reported in a copyright complaint will also resolve that complaint. 

What if I want to contest the takedown?

If you believe that the materials reported in the copyright complaints were misidentified or removed in error, you may send us a counter-notification(s) by replying to the notice received. A counter-notice is a request for Kowcha to reinstate the removed material.
Tip: Removing the material reported in a copyright complaint will also resolve that complaint. 

When should I file a counter-notice?

A counter-notice is a request for Kowcha to reinstate the removed material and is the start of a legal process that has legal consequences. For example, submitting a counter-notice indicates that you consent to the jurisdiction of a U.S. Federal court and that you consent to the disclosure of your personal information to the reporter.

With these considerations in mind, you may file a counter-notice if you believe that this material was misidentified, or you have a good faith belief that the material should not have been removed. If you’re unsure whether or not you should file a counter-notice, you may want to consult with a lawyer.

Tip: Re-posting material removed in response to a copyright complaint may result in permanent account suspension. If you believe the content was removed in error, please file a counter-notice rather than re-posting the material. 

What information do you need to process a counter-notice?

To submit a counter-notice, you will need to provide us with the following information:

A physical or electronic signature (typing your full name will suffice)

Your full name, address (including country), telephone number, and for verification purposes, your Kowcha username and associated email

Identification of the material that has been removed or to which access has been disabled, and the location at which the material appeared before that removal or disabling (the description from the copyright notice will suffice)

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 and

One of the following jurisdictional consent statements:

(If your address is in the United States)
“I consent to the jurisdiction of the Federal District Court for the judicial district in which my address is located and I’ll accept service of process from the person who provided notice under 17 U.S.C. 512 (c)(1)(C) or an agent of such person.”

OR
(If your address is outside of the United States)
"I consent to any judicial district in which Kowcha may be found, and I’ll accept service of process from the person who provided notice under 17 U.S.C. 512 (c)(1)(C) or an agent of such person."

To submit a counter-notice, please provide all of the above information by sending an email to copyright@Kowcha.com 

What happens after I submit a counter-notice?

Upon receipt of a valid counter-notice, we will promptly forward a copy to the person who filed the original notice. This means that the contact information that is submitted in your counter-notice will be shared with the person who filed the original notice.
If the copyright owner disagrees that the content was removed in error or misidentification, they may pursue legal action against you. If we do not receive notice within 10 business days that the original reporter is seeking a court order to prevent further infringement of the material at issue, we may replace or cease disabling access to the material that was removed.

We cannot offer any legal advice. Should you have questions, please consult a lawyer.

Filing a copyright complaint or counter-notice is serious business!

Please think twice before submitting a claim or counter-notice, especially if you are unsure whether you are the actual rights holder or authorized to act on a rights holder’s behalf. There are legal and financial consequences for fraudulent and/or bad faith submissions. Please be sure that you are the actual rights holder, or that you have a good faith belief that the material was removed in error, and that you understand the repercussions of submitting a false claim.

What happens if my account receives one or more copyright complaints?

If multiple copyright complaints are received about an account, or other evidence suggests a pattern of repeat infringement, Kowcha may block that account in accordance with our Repeat Infringer Policy. Our Repeat Infringer Policy takes valid retractions and counter-notices into account. Additionally, re-posting material that was already removed in response to a copyright complaint, indicating where to access copyrighted material on third party websites or services, or certain other actions that demonstrate your account is intended solely or primarily to infringe the copyrighted material of others may result in permanent account closure.

Counterfeit Goods Policy

Kowcha prohibits the sale of or promoting the sale of counterfeit goods on her platform.

What are counterfeit goods?

Counterfeit goods are goods, including digital goods, that are promoted, sold, or otherwise distributed using a trademark or brand that is identical to, or substantially indistinguishable from, the registered trademark or brand of another, without authorization from the trademark or brand owner. Counterfeit goods attempt to deceive consumers into believing the counterfeit is a genuine product of the brand owner, or to represent themselves as faux, replicas or imitations of the genuine product.

How is this policy different from Kowcha’s trademark policy?

Kowcha’s trademark policy applies to uses of trademarks that may mislead or confuse others about one’s brand affiliation, other than sale or promotion of counterfeit goods. Kowcha’s counterfeit policy applies to the sale or promotion of counterfeit goods. 

What is a violation of Kowcha’s counterfeit policy?

Selling or promoting counterfeit goods on the platform is a violation of Kowcha’s counterfeit policy. Kowcha’s counterfeit policy prohibits but is not limited to:

Non-genuine products that attempt to pass themselves off as genuine products of the trademark or brand owner.

Products described as faux, replicas, or imitations, etc., using a trademark or brand name, without authorization of the trademark or brand owner.

The offer, promotion, sale, or facilitation of unauthorized access to content, including digital goods.

How does Kowcha respond to counterfeit reports?

We review each report and do the following:

If we determine that there is a violation of our counterfeit policy, we may deactivate the account or disable access to the material.

What is not a counterfeit policy violation?

Content which provides news, information, or commentary about goods or services is not a violation of this counterfeit goods policy.

Promotion or sale, including resale, of genuine branded goods, may not be a violation.

The use of trademarked materials in a misleading way that does not involve the sale or promotion of counterfeit goods would not be a violation of this counterfeit policy, but may be a violation of our trademark policy.

How do I report a counterfeit policy violation?

If you are concerned about an account violating Kowcha’s counterfeit policy, please send us an email on copyright@Kowcha.co.

What happens if you violate this policy?

If we determine that you violated our counterfeit policy, we may deactivate your account.

Trademark Policy

Overview

You may not violate others’ intellectual property rights, including copyright and trademark.

A trademark is a word, logo, phrase, or device that distinguishes a trademark holder’s good or service in the marketplace. Trademark law may prevent others from using a trademark in an unauthorized or confusing manner.

What is in violation of this policy?

Using another’s trademark in a way that may mislead or confuse people about your affiliation may be a violation of our trademark policy.

What is not a violation of this policy?

Referencing another’s trademark is not automatically a violation of Kowcha’s trademark policy. Examples of non-violations include:

Using a trademark in a way that is outside the scope of the trademark registration e.g., in a different territory, or a different class of goods or services than that identified in the registration and,

Using a trademark in a nominative or other fair use manner.

Who can report violations of this policy?

Kowcha only investigates requests that are submitted by the trademark holder or their authorized representative e.g., a legal representative or other representative for a brand.

How can I report violations of this policy?

You can submit a trademark report by sending an email to copyright@Kowcha.com
Note: We may provide the account holder with your name and other information included in the copy of the report.

What happens if you violate this policy?

If we determine that you violated our trademark policy, we may deactivate your account. Depending on the type of violation, we may give you an opportunity to comply with our policies. In other instances, an account may be permanently deactivated upon first review.