Indiegogo takes Intellectual Property (“IP”) rights very seriously. This article outlines how Indiegogo addresses IP disputes for content on our platform (i.e., the Services).

 Important Note: This article is not intended to provide and should not be construed as legal advice for any purpose. We recommend that you consult with an attorney before submitting any legal correspondence to us, including a demand letter or a take­down request, or if you have any questions about IP rights.

 

Copyrights

Indiegogo has adopted a general policy regarding copyright in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (“DMCA”). Indiegogo removes material that is the subject of a compliant DMCA takedown notice. Section 512 of the DMCA provides the rules for reporting copyright infringement and for filing a counter-notification. We reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to delete or disable User Content that has been alleged to be infringing, as well as to terminate User accounts associated with repeat infringers.

 If you're not sure whether material on Indiegogo infringes on your copyright, please consult with an attorney before filing a DMCA notification. Misrepresenting that material infringes on your copyright may subject you to liability for damages, including costs and attorneys' fees incurred by Respondents or other parties. If someone is infringing your copyrighted content on the Indiegogo platform, please send us a takedown notice for that content following the instructions below. Please be sure that it has all the elements listed below, or your notification will not be considered complete. We are not required to take any action on incomplete DMCA notices.

 Your DMCA notification must include substantially the following (please note that all information must be submitted in English):

1. A physical or electronic signature (typing your full name will suffice) of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed (“Complainant”);
2. Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed (g., a link to your original work), or, if multiple infringed works at a single online website are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works at that website;
3. Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity and that is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled, and information reasonably sufficient to permit Indiegogo to locate the material;
4. Information reasonably sufficient to permit Indiegogo to contact the Complainant, such as an address, telephone number, and, if available, an electronic mail address at which the Complainant may be contacted;
5. A statement that reflects the following, word for word: "the Complainant has 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"; and
6. A statement that reflects the following, word for word: "the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that the Complainant is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right" that is allegedly being infringed upon.

If you are reporting the content of a comment, you must include a screenshot or otherwise specify the location of the alleged infringing material. A LINK TO A PROFILE PAGE, WITHOUT MORE, IS INSUFFICIENT FOR INDIEGOGO TO IDENTIFY INFRINGING MATERIAL.

How do I report a copyright violation?

 Once you have all the information you need for your copyright infringement notification, please send the complete notification to Indiegogo’s registered DMCA Agent by mail or email (Email preferred).

Designated DMCA Agent (this information may change from time to time):

DMCA Agent Indiegogo, Inc.

965 Mission St. Fl. 6

 San Francisco, CA 94103 Phone: 866-­641-­4646

Email: copyright@indiegogo.com

What happens after Indiegogo receives the notice? 

When we receive a complete DMCA takedown notice, our policy is to remove the infringing material or disable access to a campaign until the dispute is resolved or the DMCA process is complete. We will also forward a copy of the notification to the Indiegogo User responsible for the alleged infringing material, along with the Complainant’s contact information.

What if I’m the Indiegogo User and I want to dispute the DMCA takedown notice?

If you are the Indiegogo User who received a DMCA notification and whose material was removed (the “Respondent”), and you believe that your material has been removed or disabled by mistake or misidentification, you will have 5 (five) business days from your receipt of the infringement notice to dispute the claims in a counter notice. You can do so by submitting a complete counter notification by email to our registered DMCA agent (see above). Please note, we are not required to act on incomplete DMCA counter-notifications.

 For the counter-notification to be complete, it must include substantially the following (please note that all information must be submitted in English):

1. A physical or electronic signature of the Respondent;
2. Identification of the material that has been removed or to which access has been disabled and the location at which the material appeared before it was removed or access to it was disabled;
3. A statement that reflects the following, word for word: "under penalty of perjury that the Respondent has 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
4. The name, address, and telephone number of the Respondent, and a statement that the Respondent consents to the jurisdiction of the Federal District Court for the judicial district in which the address is located, or if the Respondent's address is outside of the United States, for any judicial district in which the service provider may be found, and that the Respondent will accept service of process from the Complainant or an agent of the Complainant.

If you would like to be able to remove the contested material and Indiegogo has disabled access to your Indiegogo account or Campaign after we forward a DMCA notification to you, please contact us. We may decide, in our sole discretion, to briefly reactivate your account for the sole purpose of allowing you to remove the contested material. Failure to follow Indiegogo’s instructions regarding reactivation may result in permanent suspension of the Respondent’s Indiegogo account.

 Under the DMCA, any person who knowingly materially misrepresents that material was removed or disabled by mistake or misidentification may be subject to liability.

 What happens next?

After we have received your completed counter notification, we will forward the counter notification to the Complainant. We may then decide, in our sole discretion, to reinstate the removed material or reinstate the Indiegogo account between ten (10) to fourteen (14) business days following Indiegogo’s receipt of the counter notification, unless we receive written notice from the Complainant that they have filed an action seeking a court order relating to the alleged unauthorized use of the copyrighted material.

As a reminder, if you fail to provide the information or otherwise follow the procedures outlined above, we will take no action.

 

Trademarks

The DMCA does not cover trademark infringement, and Indiegogo has a different process when it comes to certain types of trademark infringement claims. You may report violations of only registered word, phrase, symbol, and/or design marks.

 For unregistered trademarks and all other types of trademarks, including trade dress and non­traditional marks such as sounds, smells, and colors, the process outlined below does not apply and we require a valid court order before we can take any action on those types of trademark-infringement claims.

 For information on the process of registering a trademark, please consult with an attorney or refer to the United States Patent and Trademark Office website.

 How do I report a trademark violation?

 If you believe that your registered word, phrase, symbol, and/or design mark is being infringed on the Indiegogo platform, you may email the following information to copyright@indiegogo.com (please note that all information must be submitted in English):

1. Please indicate whether you have attempted to resolve the trademark dispute directly with the user who posted the material in question;
2. The Indiegogo URL of infringing campaign;
3. The trademarked word, phrase, symbol, and/or design, including sufficient information for Indiegogo to identify where it is used on the Indiegogo platform;
4. The trademark registration number;
5. The trademark registration office (g., USPTO);
6. The trademark owner’s name and street address;
7. Your contact information, including your full legal name, your email address (please use company email address), and your title;
8. An explanation of how the user or campaign is violating the trademark (please provide specific grounds for your complaint);
9. A statement that reflects the following, word for word: "under penalty of perjury that you have a good-faith belief that the challenged material violates the trademark owner’s rights";
10. A statement that reflects the following, word for word: "under penalty of perjury that the information in the complaint is accurate and that you are the trademark owner or are authorized to act on the trademark owner’s behalf";
11. A statement that reflects the following, word for word: "you understand that third parties, including the affected Indiegogo user, may receive a copy of your infringement complaint"; and
12. Your physical or electronic signature (typing your full name will suffice).

 Misrepresenting that material infringes on your trademark may subject you to liability for damages, including costs and attorneys’ fees. And remember, only the trademark owner or their authorized representative may file a report for trademark infringement.

 What happens after Indiegogo receives the notice?

When Indiegogo receives a complete trademark infringement notice for a covered trademark violation (as explained above), we will review your submission, and take whatever action we deem appropriate—in our sole discretion. The response to such notices may include removing or disabling access to material claimed to be the subject of infringing activity and/or terminating the infringing user’s account.

Looking to use Indiegogo's trademarks for your campaigns? Please visit our Brand Resources Guide. 

  

Patents

 If you believe that a campaign is offering an item or service that infringes on a valid and enforceable patent, please follow the process below and submit your complaint to copyright@indiegogo.com. Remember to include all the following information in your message:

1. A valid patent registration number and a court or agency order finding infringement of the patent by material on the Indiegogo platform;
2. The Indiegogo URL of infringing campaign;
3. Your full legal name;
4. Your email address (please use company email address);
5. Company name (optional);
6. Company street address (optional);
7. A statement that you understand that Indiegogo may provide third parties, including the affected user, with a copy of this complaint; and
8. A statement under penalty of perjury that the information in this complaint is true and correct and that you are the patent holder or are authorized to act on the patent holder's behalf.

 Please note that you may be liable for damages (including costs and attorneys’ fees) if you materially misrepresent that material is infringing your patent(s). We will review claims of patent infringement and remove from public view any campaign that is the subject of a court order finding infringement.