Legal documents

WT Live Copyright Compliance Policy

Gaijin recognizes the importance of respecting the intellectual property of others. The Contribution Agreement ("Agreement") strictly forbids Users from submitting any User-Generated Content that infringes on the copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, or any other intellectual property rights, privacy rights, or other legal or moral rights of any third-party individual or entity. Gaijin may remove User-Generated Content infringing a third party’s rights upon receipt of a valid request as specified hereunder.

This Copyright Compliance Policy is a part of the Agreement that contains rules to provide users and rightsholders with an effective mechanism of copyright infringement dispute resolution. Any terms not defined in this Copyright Compliance Policy shall have the meaning given in the Agreement. Both the Agreement and this Copyright Compliance Policy are legally binding to all Users.

Please note that reviewing any of the following notices and requests requires the processing of your personal data in accordance with the Gaijin Privacy Policy. 

1. RIGHTSHOLDER’S AUTHORIZATION

According to Article 17 of the Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market (EU 2019/790), if You want to inquire about granting authorization for the use of Your copyrighted work uploaded by Users, You should contact Gaijin by email at legal@gaijin.net. Gaijin will review your inquiry and will respond without undue delay.

In this case, Your inquiry should contain the following information:

  • your full name;
  • name of the copyright owner;
  • your email address;
  • your physical address;
  • your phone number;
  • your relationship to the copyright owner (i.e., whether You are the copyright owner/representative etc.);
  • evidence of rights and authorization (e.g., registration certificate, a license agreement, a power of attorney, a signed letter with your organization’s letterhead, and/or other relevant materials);
  • a description of the copyrighted work(s) and a description of where the material You wish to authorize is located (including any additional identifying information such as URLs to assist us in identifying);
  • what do You exactly wish to authorize, and how many individual pieces of content would You like to authorize; 
  • your confirmation that You confirm the accuracy and credibility of the foregoing information and that You are the legitimate copyright owner or are authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner;
  • signature (e.g., your name electronically).

2. RIGHTSHOLDER’S RIGHT TO MAKE THE WORK UNAVAILABLE

You, as a legitimate rightsholder, may request to prohibit (make unavailable) your copyrighted work submitted as User-Generated Content by Users. As specified in the IMPORTANT NOTICE, be sure to consider whether fair use, fair dealing, or a similar exception to the copyright applies before You send the request. When Gaijin receives and validates such a request, Gaijin will expeditiously remove or disable access to the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringement activity.

For Gaijin to process your request, it must be sent to the email address legal@gaijin.net and must include the information specified below:

  • your full name;
  • name of the copyright owner;
  • your email address;
  • your relationship to the copyright owner (i.e., whether You are the copyright owner/representative etc.);
  • evidence of rights and authorization (e.g., registration certificate, a license agreement, a power of attorney, a signed letter with your organization’s letterhead, and/or other relevant materials).
  • a description of the copyrighted work(s) that You claim is infringed (image, music, photo, etc.) and a description of where the material that You claim is infringing is located (including any additional identifying information such as URLs to assist us in identifying the allegedly infringing material);
  • your confirmation that You confirm the accuracy and credibility of the preceding information and that You are the legitimate copyright owner or are authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner;
  • your confirmation that there may be adverse legal consequences for making false or bad faith allegations of copyright infringement by using this procedure;
  • signature (e.g., your name electronically).

Please note that not including some necessary information may limit our ability to investigate Your request. In this case, Gaijin will ask You to provide the missing information as soon as possible. The lack of information may result in the denial of Your complaint.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: EU LAW PROVIDES USER EXCEPTIONS AND LIMITATIONS TO COPYRIGHT, INCLUDING USE FOR QUOTATION, CRITICISM, REVIEW, AND USE FOR THE PURPOSE OF CARICATURE, PARODY, OR PASTICHE. SOME COUNTRIES IN THE EU MAY PROVIDE ADDITIONAL EXCEPTIONS OR LIMITATIONS. YOU, AS A RIGHTSHOLDER, UNDERSTAND THAT GAIJIN IS REQUIRED TO RESPECT AND UPHOLD USER EXCEPTIONS AND LIMITATIONS TO COPYRIGHT.

See below some further information about the exceptions and limitations to copyright available in the EU:

  • Quotation, criticism, and review.

A quotation is an extract from a copyrighted work for the purposes of illustrating an assertion, defending an opinion, or allowing an intellectual comparison between that work and the assertions of the User. Quotations may be used for the purposes of criticism or review.

  • Caricature, parody, and pastiche.

Parody refers to a new creative work that uses an existing work for humor or mockery, caricature reflects the subject in a simplified or exaggerated way, and pastiche is a piece of work that is made up of selections from various sources that imitate other styles. 

Please priorly make sure that:

  • Your use of the quotation must extend no further than is required to achieve your purpose;
  • The material used is available to the public;
  • The use of the material is fair and does not unreasonably harm the legitimate interests of the rightsholder;
  • Where practical, the use is accompanied by sufficient acknowledgment.

3. USERS’ COUNTER-NOTIFICATION

Gaijin is entitled to remove or disable the User-Generated Content subject to alleged infringement of a third party’s intellectual property rights. The User who submits such materials will be notified without undue delay. Nonetheless, the User may file a Counter Notification Form if they have a reasonable belief that the submitted User-Generated Content is not infringing. 

For Gaijin to process such notification, it must be sent to the email address legal@gaijin.net and must include the information specified below:

  • your full name;
  • email address; 
  • phone number; 
  • physical address; 
  • the name of your Gaijin Account; 
  • your name is on WT live website;
  • the description of the material removed or disabled and where the material had been located before it was removed or restricted;
  • the status (e.g., a User who posted infringing User-Generated Content or if You are an authorized representative of the person who posted infringing User-Generated Content);
  • your confirmation that there may be adverse legal consequences for making false or bad faith allegations by using this procedure.

Failure to include necessary information may limit our ability to investigate Your counter-notification. In this case, Gaijin will ask You to provide the missing information as soon as possible. The lack of information may result in the denial of Your complaint.

If it turns out the alleged User-Generated Content does not infringe this policy and Gaijin puts it online again, the person who sent the removal request will be notified without undue delay.

The User is entitled, at any time, to send a request on the review progress of their inquiry, request, or counter-notification. 

Last updated: 18.04.2023