Copyright and Intellectual Property Policy

Asking Matters has adopted the following general policy toward copyright and intellectual property infringement in accordance with general U.S. intellectual property laws and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/legislation/dmca.pdf). Asking Matters will respond to notices of this form from jurisdictions other than the U.S. as well. The address of Asking Matters’ Designated Agent to Receive Notification of Claimed Infringement (“Designated Agent”) is listed at the end of this policy.

Asking Matters may act expeditiously to respond to a proper notice by (1) removing or disabling access to material claimed to be subject of infringing activity; and (2) removing and discontinuing service to repeat offenders. If Asking Matters removes or disables access in response to such a notice, Asking Matters will make a good-faith attempt to contact the allegedly infringing party (“User”) so that they may make a counter notification.

A. Procedure for Reporting Copyright or Intellectual Property Infringements:

If you materially misrepresent that a product or activity is infringing your intellectual property, you may be liable for damages (including costs and attorneys’ fees). Therefore, if you are not sure whether the material infringes upon your intellectual property, please contact an attorney before contacting Asking Matters.

If you believe that material residing on or accessible through the Asking Matters web site or service infringes a copyright or other intellectual property right, to provide Asking Matters of notice of such infringement, you must send a written notice of the infringement to the Designated Agent listed below. Please specify the type of infringement at issue and the notice must include the following information:

1. A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright or intellectual property right that has been allegedly infringed upon (by fax or regular mail – not by e-mail, except by prior agreement);
2. Identification in sufficient detail of the material being infringed upon (for an allegation of a patent infringement, please provide a patent number);
3. Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing upon the intellectual property. Include information regarding the location of the infringing material with sufficient detail so that Asking Matters is capable of finding and verifying its existence (for listings, please provide item numbers);
4. Contact information about the notifier including the name of the intellectual property owner, the name and title of the person contacting Asking Matters on the owner’s behalf, the address, telephone number and, if available, e-mail address;
5. A statement that the notifier has a good faith belief that the material is not authorized by the intellectual property or copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and
6. A statement made under penalty of perjury that the information provided is accurate and the notifying party is authorized to make the complaint on behalf of the intellectual property or copyright owner.

When removing material from the site, Asking Matters will make reasonable attempts to inform the User of the removal, the reason for the removal, and may provide the User with a copy of the notice and the notifying party’s contact information.

B. Removal of Allegedly Infringing Material

Once Proper Bona Fide Infringement Notification is received by the Designated Agent, Asking Matters may remove or disable access to the material infringing upon the intellectual property. If Asking Matters removes or disables access to content in response to an infringement notice, Asking Matters will make reasonable attempts to notify the User that Asking Matters has removed or disabled access to the material. Repeat offenders will have all material removed from the system and Asking Matters will terminate such Users’ access to the service.

C. Procedure to Supply a Copyright Counter-Notice to the Designated Agent:

If you materially misrepresent that a product or activity is not infringing upon the intellectual property, you may be liable for damages (including costs and attorneys’ fees). Therefore, if you are not sure whether or not the material infringes on the intellectual property, please contact an attorney before contacting Asking Matters.

If a Member believes that their material that was removed or to which access was disabled is not infringing upon a copyright, you must send a counter-notice, pursuant to 512(g)(2) and (3) of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Please do not re-list or reactivate the material yourself. The counter-notice must contain the following information to the Designated Agent listed below.

1. Your physical or electronic signature (by fax or regular mail – not by e-mail, except by prior agreement);
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 disabled;
3. A statement, under penalty of perjury, that the you have a good faith belief that the material was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification of the material;
4. Your name, address, telephone number, and, if available, e-mail address and a statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of the Federal Court for the judicial district in which the User’s address is located, or if your address is located outside the United States, for any judicial district in which Asking Matters is located, and that you will accept service of process from the person who provided notification under subsection (c)(1)(C) or an agent of such person.

If a counter-notice is received by the Designated Agent, Asking Matters may send a copy of the counter-notice to the original complaining party informing that person that Asking Matters may replace the removed material or cease disabling it in 10 business days. Unless the copyright or intellectual property owner files an action seeking a court order against the User, the removed material may be replaced or access to it restored in 10 to 14 business days after receipt of the counter-notice, at Asking Matters’ discretion.

Please contact Asking Matters’ Designated Agent to submit Notifications of Claimed Infringement and Copyright Counter-Notices at the following address:

Designated Agent to Receive Notification of Claimed Infringement:

Asking Matters
P.O. Box 1295
Maplewood, NJ 07040 USA
E-mail: abuse@askingmatters.com