We strongly believe in the value of intellectual property and importance of protecting it. One of the ways that we help intellectual property owners is to comply in all respects with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”), including the notice and takedown procedure. As stated in our Terms of Service we enforce our policy barring the upload of infringing content onto the Ning Platform. We respect the rights of copyright owners and you must do the same, which includes only uploading content that you have permission to and removing any possibly infringing content uploaded by your members. Please see our FAQs about copyrights for some basics about copyrights.
As a Network Creator, you may be interested in learning more about the DMCA as well. If so, you may consider the following:
- Host a page containing your copyright policy.
- Include a prominent link to your copyright policy on each page of your social network on which users can access content uploaded by other users, with the link being entitled “Copyright Policy” or words to the same effect.
- Register an agent to receive notices of claimed infringement with the U.S. Copyright Office. To register a Designated Agent, you must fill out the form located here completely and accurately.
- Conscientiously follow your copyright policy.
- Include the following statement reasonably prominently where appropriate: “By making any content available on this social network, you represent and warrant that you own or have licensed all rights necessary to properly do so.”
For informational purposes only, please see our Sample Copyright Policy.
THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE. YOU ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE AND LIABLE FOR COMPLYING WITH ALL APPLICABLE LAWS, INCLUDING COPYRIGHT AND PRIVACY LAWS, IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR APPLICATION, AND WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO OBTAIN INDEPENDENT LEGAL COUNSEL.