This
Intellectual Property Policy was last updated on August 20, 2020.
Gurukol
is a technology platform that enables anyone anywhere to create and share
educational courses. We host courses on our online learning marketplace. Our
marketplace model means we do not review or edit the courses for legal issues,
and we are not in a position to determine the legality of course content.
However, it is important to us that instructors posting courses on Gurukol
respect the intellectual property of others. When instructors post courses on
our marketplace, they make the promise that they have the necessary
authorization or rights to use all the content contained in their courses.
Infringing
activity is not tolerated on or through our platform.
This
policy addresses what we do in the event of copyright infringement reports from
content owners and trademark infringement claims from trademark owners with
respect to the courses on the Gurukol platform. The policy also addresses what
we do when Gurukol instructors’ courses are copied on third-party platforms
without their consent.
Third-Party Copyright
Infringement Reports
How to File a Report
Counter-Notification
Reports from Instructors
of Infringing Content on Other Platforms
Third-Party Trademark
Infringement Reports
How to Submit a Trademark
Infringement Report
Designated Agent Contact
Information
Third-Party Copyright
Infringement Reports
Gurukol’s
policy is to remove courses from our service when they are reported as
infringing in a copyright infringement notice received from the owner of the
original content. It is also our policy to remove all courses from any
instructor who is determined to be a repeat infringer (for whom Gurukol has
received more than two valid takedown notices). We reserve the right to
terminate an instructor’s account at any time, including when they post content
in violation of the copyrights of others.
How to File a Report
If
you would like to report a course on the Gurukol marketplace and if you are the
owner or the designated agent of the owner of the rights to the content that
you believe the course is infringing, the most efficient way is to use
this form or Email us at - (form in English only).
Before
you submit a copyright infringement report, please remember these important
things:
We cannot process a copyright claim that is
not submitted by the owner of the copyright or its designated agent. This is because we
have no way of knowing whether the instructor who published the course you are
reporting has received proper permission from the owner to use the content. We
will ask you to provide an electronic signature to confirm that you are the
copyright owner or have authority to represent the copyright owner (including
if the copyright owner is an organization).
Your copyright claim has to be sufficiently
substantiated for us be able to address it. This means:
You provide sufficient information for us to contact you,
including your full legal name, an email address, physical address, and
(optional) telephone number.
If you are filing a report on behalf of an organization,
you include the name of the organization and your relationship to the
organization.
You precisely identify the original copyrighted material
or, if multiple copyrighted works are covered in your notification, you provide
a sufficiently representative list of such original material (such as a URL
where the material is located);
You provide sufficient information for us to locate the
reportedly infringing course(s) on the Gurukol site (the URL on our website and
the exact name of the course and instructor;
You add a statement saying: “I declare, under penalty of
perjury, that the information in this complaint is accurate and that I am the
copyright owner or am authorized to act on the copyright owner's behalf and I
have 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”.
Knowingly submitting a false or misleading
claim of infringement is illegal and you could be held liable and have to pay
damages as a result. Gurukol
reserves the right to seek damages from anyone who submits a notification of
claimed infringement in violation of the law.
There are types of content that are not
protected by copyright. Copyright law doesn’t cover short phrases (like
business names, book titles, and slogans), intangible concepts (like processes,
ideas, and recipes), or facts. Before you submit a copyright claim, make sure
that the content copied in the course is indeed protected by copyright. If you
need to report a trademark violation, please follow the steps here.
Consider whether the use of your material
in the course is “fair use”. Copyright law includes a “fair use”
exception for certain uses of copyrighted content that are considered to be in
the public interest. Fair use covers things like criticism, commentary, news
reporting, and research. In considering whether a course’s use of your material
qualifies as fair use, you should look at:
The purpose of the use (whether the course is paid or
unpaid, whether the course critiques/parodies/transforms your material)
The type of copyrighted work being used (whether your
work is factual or creative)
The portion being used (whether the course uses small,
necessary excerpts of your material or substantial portions of it)
The effect on the market for your material (whether
potential buyers would purchase the course instead of your material)
Before
you submit a copyright claim, make sure that use of the content copied in the
course does not qualify as fair use.
Counter-Notification
If
we receive a valid copyright violation report, we will send a copy of that
report to the instructor who posted the reported course along with a
notification that 1) the course was reported for copyright infringement and 2)
we are removing the course from the Gurukol service. We will also attach a form
that the instructor can fill in and send back to us to submit a
counter-notification. If your course has been reported for copyright
infringement and removed from the Gurukol service, and if you believe we made a
mistake or that you have permission from the owner of the reported content to
use such content in your course, then you may send us a counter-notification.
The
best way to provide us with a counter-notification is to fill in the form we
provided you and send it back to the Gurukol designated agent or the copyright
team member who notified you. To be effective, a counter notification must be
in writing and include the following information:
Your physical or electronic signature;
Your name, address, and email address or telephone
number,
Identification of the course that was removed and the
location (URL) at which it appeared before it was removed (you can access this
information from the copyright infringement report filed against your course,
we always attach a copy when we notify you);
A statement under penalty of perjury that 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; and
A statement that you consent to (i) Gurukol sharing your
name and contact information with the claimant; (ii) receiving service of
process for any legal action by the claimant or an agent of the claimant and
(ii) accepting the jurisdiction of the federal district court for the judicial
district in which you reside (if in the U.S.), or if you reside outside of the
U.S., the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the Northern
District of California (headquarters of Gurukol).
Knowingly
submitting a false or misleading counter-notification to a claim of
infringement is illegal and you could be held liable and have to pay damages as
a result. Gurukol
reserves the right to seek damages from any party that submits a
counter-notification of claimed infringement or counter notification in
violation of the law.
Reports from Instructors
of Infringing Content on Other Platforms
We
understand that when you post and make available your courses on the Gurukol
marketplace, you want to make sure that you will not find your courses offered
on another platform without your permission. To help combat copyright
infringement and piracy affecting courses of our instructors, we partnered with
Link-Busters, an anti-piracy vendor, to seek out and find instances of
infringement and to have any infringing content removed from third-party
platforms.
In
the event you find your course available on another platform without your
permission, please fill out the form here. Link-Busters will file
copyright infringement reports and exercise legal actions to have the
infringing content removed as soon as possible. Please keep in mind that since Gurukol
and Link-Busters don’t control the content on other sites, we may not always be
successful, especially if your content is on a site outside of the US or EU.
Certain countries take different approaches to copyright law; as such, we
cannot guarantee the infringing party or hosting site will comply with our
notices and remove the infringing content from their platform.
Third-Party Trademark
Infringement Reports
Gurukol’s
policy is to remove courses from our service when they are reported as
infringing a third-party trademark. We also reserve the right to terminate an
instructor’s account at any time, including when they post content in violation
of the trademark rights of others.
How to Submit a Trademark
Infringement Report
The
fastest and easiest way to submit a report of trademark infringement to us is
to send a notice to the Designated Agent containing the information identified
below. Please note that a copy of your notice will be sent to the party who
posted the content you are reporting. Before you submit a trademark
infringement report, please remember these important things:
Your trademark claim has to be sufficiently
substantiated for us be able to address it. This means your communication must
include substantially the following:
Your complete contact information (full name, mailing
address, and email or phone number).
The specific word, symbol, etc. for which you claim
trademark rights.
The basis for your claim of trademark rights (such as a
national or community registration), including registration number, if
applicable.
The country or jurisdiction in which you claim trademark
rights.
The category of goods and/or services for which you
assert rights.
Sufficient information for us to locate the material on Gurukol
that you believe violates your trademark rights (web addresses/URLs of the
allegedly infringing content).
A description of how you believe this content infringes
your trademark.
If you are not the rights holder, an explanation of your relationship
to the rights holder.
The following statement: “I have a good faith belief that
use of the trademark as described above in the manner complained of is not
authorized by the trademark owner, its agent, or the law.”
The following statement: "The information in this
notice is accurate, and I declare, under penalty of perjury, that I am the
owner or authorized to act on behalf of the owner of a trademark that is
allegedly infringed."
Your electronic signature ("/s/" followed by
your full name, e.g., "/s/ Jane Doe") or physical signature.
Submitting a false or misleading claim of
infringement could result in liability for you. Gurukol reserves
the right to seek damages from any party that submits a false or misleading
notification of claimed trademark infringement.
Consider whether the use of your trademark
in the course is “nominative fair use”. Trademark law protects the use of a
name or brand for selling products and services, with the goal of preventing
consumer confusion. Most countries’ laws include an exception for “fair use”,
which allows others to use a trademark for factually referencing the
trademarked product or service, or commenting on or criticizing the mark.
Consider the likelihood that others would be confused into thinking that your company
or brand had created or is sponsoring the course. Before you submit a trademark
claim, make sure that use of your trademark in the course does not qualify as
fair use.
Designated Agent Contact
Information
Gurukol’s
Designated Agent for notices of reported infringement can be contacted in the
following manner:
By
filling the copyright report form (for copyright infringement reports
only)
Via
Email: [email protected]
