Copyright

Intellectual Property and Publicity Rights

Misha Libertee is a community built on respect and recognition of artists. We ask, rather we beg, that you remember this when you are posting work on Misha Libertee. If you make sure that all the works you upload consist of your very own, original ideas and are not infringing on the intellectual property or publicity rights of another, you will help us foster the supportive and creative environment that is Misha Libertee. AND, besides being counter to all that Misha Libertee stands for, stealing other people’s work and passing it off as your own is against the law:

There are several international treaties that relate to intellectual property, but the laws are not uniform across the world. However, generally speaking…

COPYRIGHT law protects the expression of an original idea recorded in a tangible form, such as artwork in the form of photographs or paintings and literary works in the form of poems or stories.

TRADEMARK law protects the use of words, symbols, designs or logos that identify and distinguish a source of goods.

PUBLICITY RIGHTS protect an individual’s name, image and likeness. Basically this means you can’t use someone else’s identity, to your commercial advantage, without their consent.

A NOTE ON FAIR USE: You might be able to incorporate someone else’s copyright or trademark into your own work, if you do it in such a way that that is considered “fair use” or in such a way that qualifies as another permissible use. However, please be aware that “fair use” typically applies in limited circumstances and isn’t the same as “freedom of speech”. Quite frankly “fair use” is a difficult concept, even for the experts, and the scope of “fair use” is different in different countries. So even if you think you’ve created a work covered by “fair use” or another permissible use, you should talk to an attorney prior to using it in connection with the Misha Libertee service. While some uses might appear “fair” or permissible to you, we ask that you understand that Misha Libertee must act in accordance with its Notice and Takedown procedure when a report has been received. Additionally, certain works may be taken down without a specific report being received if we are otherwise alerted or aware of potential infringement issues.

Ultimately, you take full responsibility for the works you upload and display on Misha Libertee. This is reflected in the Misha Libertee User Agreement. Use of the Misha Libertee website indicates continued acceptance of this Agreement.

So please do us all a favour and if someone has created or owns the rights to a picture, painting, photograph, logo, story, poem or any other work, copyright, trademark or publicity right (regardless of whether it’s an individual or a large global company), obtain consent before you use that work in connection with the Misha Libertee service. This will help ensure that you don’t infringe the rights of any third party and help us promote an encouraging and inspired environment at Misha Libertee filled with wit, soul, meaning and aesthetic genius.

REPEAT INFRINGER POLICY: It is Misha Libertee’s policy, in appropriate circumstances, to disable and/or terminate the accounts of users who repeatedly infringe or are repeatedly charged with infringing the copyrights, trademark rights, other intellectual property rights or publicity rights of others.

Filing a Counter Notice

If you believe that removal of the content is the result of a mistake (for example, that you have authorisation) or misidentification, you can send us a Counter Notice using the form below. Such counter-notice must provide the following information:

  1. 1. An electronic or physical signature of the person authorised to act on behalf of the owner of the relevant matter;
  2. 2. a description of the content which we have removed, including the URL on which the content was located on the Misha Libertee site;
  3. 3. your address, telephone number, and email address;
  4. 4. a statement by you that you consent to the jurisdiction of the Federal District Court, San Francisco County, California, United States and that you will accept service of process from the person who provided notification described above or an agent of such person;
  5. 5. a statement by you that, under penalty of perjury, 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.

If we receive your counter-notice but your work does not comply with the Misha Libertee User Agreement and/or IP/Publicity Rights Policy, we may inform you that we are not able to reinstate your work. We may also request further information from you in order to determine whether the work can be reinstated.

In many circumstances, however, we will forward your Counter Notice directly to the complainant, which will include your personal contact information. At that time the complainant may take legal court action against you in the United States. If after 14 days the complainant has not taken legal action against you, you may contact us to request that we reinstate your work. If your work otherwise complies with our User Agreement and IP/Publicity Rights Policy, we may reinstate your work at that time.