Copyrighting And Protecting Your Work

When working with Teezily, you may have concerns about your rights over your work. But rest assured, for once you publish your own original designs with Teezily, you will have the complete authority to decide what you want to do with them, and to decide whether or not you want to allow others to reproduce them.

Copyright applies to all works which can be considered “original”, not necessarily registered as or part of a trademark. We understand that to register your work with appropriate authorities is a lengthy process, but a certificate of registration is an excellent evidence in a court of law and also creates a record for people to look you up in public databases.

 

Drawing inspiration from an existing design 

A derivative work is a copyrightable creation, which is based on one or more existing works. We say “copyrightable” because it may be difficult to draw a line between an idea and its expression, as a copyright protects only the expression i.e., the visual (or digital) representation , and not the only abstract idea.

The design should have some elements that make it unique and that can be considered original. While using common phrases or quotes are fine, the unique presentation of these phrases can be protected. This principle applies even if the sentence is translated.

It is important to keep in mind that the commercialisation/publication of any derivative work, requires the original author’s authorization for doing so. If no authorization has been given, this publication will automatically be considered as infringement to copyright.

If someone exactly copies someone else’s design or even modifies it minimally (for example by using a different font or replacing simple graphics with other graphics), his work will be considered an infringement.

In case where only a small amount of someone else’s design is copied, we have to decide whether this kind of inspiration is at the level where it would qualify as an infringement. Again, there is no clear line for determining if it is a fair use. In serious cases, a court’s decision is required.

 

Reports and Complaints about an infringement

If you believe that your design(s) has been used in a way that constitutes an infringement to your rights, please notify Teezily via moderation@teezily.com. Your claim should include the following important information:

• An electronic or physical signature of the person authorised to act on behalf of the owner of the relevant matter;
• A description of the content claimed to have been infringed;
• The URL(s) of where the claimed infringing content is located on the Teezily site;
• Your address, telephone number, and email address;
• A statement by you that you have a strong belief that the disputed use is not authorised by the owner, its agent, or the law;
• A statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that:
  – the above information is accurate; and
  – you are authorised to act on behalf of the owner of the rights involved.

If Teezily receives any complaints or reportings that your campaign constitutes an unauthorized use of a third party’s intellectual properties, Teezily may terminate or delay your campaign. In addition, Teezily may release your contact information to any third party if required by legal proceedings or by appropriate authorities.

In certain circumstances, Teezily may also suspend or terminate a user’s account, who in our opinion infringe the copyrights, trademarks, publicity rights or other rights of others repeatedly, despite several notifications and warnings.

 

Counter Notice

If you believe that the removal of your campaign(s) is the result of a mistake (for example, that you have all required authorisation from the rights owners), you can send us a counter notice. Such counter notice must provide the following information:

• A physical or electronic signature of the user submitting the notice;
• Your address, telephone number, and email address;
• A description of the campaign which we have removed, including the URL on which the campaign was located on the Teezily site;
• A statement by you that, under penalty of perjury, you have a strong belief that the material was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification of the material to be removed or disabled.

If your counter proof is not convincing enough, we may inform you that we are not able to renew your campaign. We may also request further information from you in order to determine whether the campaign can be renewed or not.