Copyright and trademark

How to report

The quickest way is our form. You don't need an account.

You can also send a written notice to our designated agent, below. A copyright notice must include:

1. Your physical or electronic signature.
2. The copyrighted work you say is infringed, or a list if there are several.
3. The item or post on MerchVice, with its link, so we can find it.
4. Your name, postal address, phone and email.
5. A statement that you have a good faith belief the use isn't authorized by the owner, its agent or the law.
6. A statement that the notice is accurate and, under penalty of perjury, that you are the owner or authorized to act for them.

Our designated agent

MerchVice's agent to receive notices of claimed infringement under 17 U.S.C. 512(c):

Service provider

MerchVice

Agent

PlaceholderAgent's name, added once our registration with the U.S. Copyright Office is complete

Address

PlaceholderAgent's postal address, added with the registration

Phone

PlaceholderAgent's phone, added with the registration

Email

PlaceholderAgent's email, added with the registration

Copyright Office registration

PlaceholderRegistration number in the Copyright Office's DMCA Designated Agent Directory

Registered

PlaceholderDate the registration takes effect

Until the registration is complete, send notices through the form, or to hello@merchvice.com.

The U.S. Copyright Office lists registered agents in its DMCA Designated Agent Directory at dmca.copyright.gov.

What happens next

1. We email you a copy of your notice with a reference.
2. A person reviews it. We may write to you if something is missing.
3. If it holds up, we hide the item or post. Its page says it was removed after a copyright or trademark notice, and any listing for it ends.
4. We tell the member and send them your notice, with your name and company and what you said about the work, but never your email, address or phone.
5. If it doesn't hold up, nothing changes, and we email you why.

Counter-notices

If your item or post was removed and you believe it was a mistake or misidentification, you can send a counter-notice from the link in our email, or in writing to our designated agent. It must include:

1. Your physical or electronic signature.
2. The item or post that was removed and where it appeared.
3. A statement under penalty of perjury that you have a good faith belief it was removed as a result of a mistake or misidentification.
4. Your name, postal address and phone.
5. A statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of the Federal District Court for your district (or, outside the United States, any district where MerchVice may be found), and that you will accept service of process from the person who sent the notice.

We send the counter-notice, with your name, address and phone, to the person who sent the notice. Unless they tell us they have filed a court action, we put the item or post back no sooner than 10 and no later than 14 business days after we get it.

Trademarks and bootlegs

Use the same form and pick Trademark. Tell us the mark, whether and where it is registered, and how the item or post uses it. A person reviews it the same way. A member can reply to a trademark notice, and a person decides; the counter-notice timer is for copyright only.

Members may show a bootleg they own if it's marked Unofficial. Unofficial items can never be sold or traded on MerchVice.

Repeat infringers

Each item or post that stays down after a notice counts against its member. A takedown that is restored, or turned down, doesn't count. When a member reaches 3, a person reviews their account, and we close the accounts of repeat infringers. If they join again with the same email, the record carries over.

Before you send a notice

Someone who knowingly says that material infringes when it doesn't, or that it was removed by mistake when it wasn't, can be liable for damages (17 U.S.C. 512(f)). Think about fair use first, and if you're not sure, talk to a lawyer.

Questions about this policy go to hello@merchvice.com.