Copyright.
Your photos are always your photos. You only grant us permission to use the photos to provide the services you're paying us for, per our Terms of Service.
SmugMug takes the rights of intellectual property owners seriously and complies, as a service provider, with all applicable provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Please note, under DMCA section 512(f), any person who knowingly materially misrepresents that activity is infringing may be liable for damages, including costs and attorney’s fees.
SmugMug is unable to provide you with legal advice regarding copyright, trademark, or other intellectual property matters. If you're unsure if someone is infringing on your intellectual property rights, you may want to seek legal guidance. You may also want to contact the person who posted the content. Often times, issues can be resolved without needing to contact SmugMug.
Only the copyright owner or their authorized representative may file a report of copyright infringement. If you believe that work residing or accessible on or through SmugMug’s services infringes a copyright, please use the copyright infringement form to send the following information (your “Notice”):
- Identification of the work or material that you claim has been infringed. If this material exists online, please provide a URL.
- Identification of the alleged infringing material, including its location on the SmugMug network. Please include sufficient detail so SmugMug can find the material and verify its existence (e.g., in most circumstances we will need a URL).
- Contact information, including your name, address, telephone number, and email address.
- A statement by you that you have a good-faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, their agent, or law.
- A statement by you that the above information in your Notice is accurate and that, under penalty of perjury, you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on the copyright owner’s behalf.
- A physical or electronic signature of the owner of the copyright that has been allegedly infringed or of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner.
SmugMug responds to effective and complete notices of intellectual property violations that provide specific information for us to identify and locate the allegedly infringing material. In appropriate instances, we will remove such material. Upon review, we may decline to remove allegedly infringing material; for example, if we
- determine it is not infringing,
- lack adequate information to determine that the material is infringing,
- are unable to find the accused material, or
- find that the material is protected by the fair use doctrine, among other reasons.
Note: When we respond to a report, we provide the rights owner's name and email address to the person who posted the content you are reporting. If you're able to provide a valid legal alternative, such as a company name or the name of a representative you have authorized to act on your behalf, we will review and apply it if appropriate.
To file a report, use the copyright infringement form.
Alternatively, you can also contact our designated agent via mail. Please note that reports sent via mail will take significantly longer (7–14 days) to process.
SmugMug, Inc.
67 E Evelyn Ave, Ste 200
Mountain View, CA 94041
Email: dmca@SmugMug.com
Trademark notice.
SmugMug respects intellectual property rights, including copyright and trademark, and forbids the sale or promotion of counterfeit products found on its Services. A trademark is a symbol, word, or words legally registered or established by use as representing a company or product. Counterfeit products are unauthorized versions of goods that include the trademark or logo of the authentic brand owner.
SmugMug is unable to provide you with legal advice regarding copyright, trademark, or other intellectual property matters. If you're unsure if someone is infringing on your intellectual property rights, you may want to seek legal guidance. You may also want to contact the person who posted the content. Often times, issues can be resolved without needing to contact SmugMug.
Filing a counterfeit/trademark form.
If you believe that products residing or accessible on SmugMug Services violate intellectual property rights please use the counterfeit/trademark form and send the following information (your “Notice”):
- An identification of the claimed intellectual property rights in question, including its location on the SmugMug network. Please include sufficient detail so SmugMug can find the material and verify its existence (e.g., in most circumstances we will need a URL).
- Contact information, including your name, address, telephone number, and email address.
- A statement that declares you have a good-faith belief that the item is counterfeit.
- A statement that declares that you have examined said item to determine its authenticity.
- A statement that provides the reasons you believe the use of the trademarked material is not authorized by the trademark owner, its agent, or the law (e.g., as a fair use).
- If you have had contact with the other party, and the result of such contact.
- A statement by you that the above information in your Notice is accurate and that, under penalty of perjury, you are the intellectual property owner or authorized to act on the behalf of the intellectual property rights owner.
- A physical or electronic signature of the owner of the intellectual property that has been allegedly infringed or of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner.
Note: When we respond to a report, we provide the rights owner's name and email address to the person who posted the content you are reporting. If you are able to provide a valid legal alternative, such as a company name or the name of a representative you have authorized to act on your behalf, we will review and apply it if appropriate.
If you believe infringement of a trademark has occurred, we recommend you submit your notice using the following form: Trademark report form.
You may also submit a notice to the below agent:
Intellectual Property Agent
SmugMug, Inc.
67 E Evelyn Ave, Ste 200
Mountain View, CA 94041
Email: dmca@SmugMug.com
Were your photos removed as a result of a copyright infringement report?
If you believe you are the wrongful subject of a DMCA notification, you may file a counter-notification with SmugMug. Review the section below for more information on filing a counter-notification.
File a counter-notification.
Under the DMCA, a counter-notification is a legal means to state your objection to a DMCA/copyright warning that you’ve received from SmugMug regarding a report of allegedly infringing copyrighted material on your account.
If you've received such a DMCA/copyright warning from SmugMug and believe your posting of the material was a mistake or that your use of the material constitutes “fair use” and does not infringe the copyright holder’s rights, you may file a counter-notification.
If you are unclear if your situation falls into one of these areas, you may want to contact the copyright holder directly. Alternatively, you may want to seek legal guidance regarding your specific situation, as SmugMug is not in the position to act in this capacity for you.
Once an effective counter-notification is provided to SmugMug, we will forward a copy of it with all your provided contact information (this is needed for the legal process) to the copyright holder, advising them that SmugMug intends to replace or re-enable access to the material in question in ten to fourteen (10–14) business days following the date of the counter-notification.
SmugMug is committed to replacing or re-enabling access to the material in question; although, in some circumstances, you may need to repost the material—for example, if it no longer exists on our servers. If we receive a counter-notification from you and SmugMug does not receive notice that a court action has been filed as described above, we will no longer accept notices from the same copyright holder regarding the same material in question on the reported pages.
To be effective within the meaning of the DMCA, a counter-notification shall be in writing and include the following (which is excerpted from 17 U.S.C. § 512(g)(3)):
- Identification of the material that has been removed or to which access has been disabled, including the location at which the material appeared before it was removed or access to it was disabled;
- A statement under penalty of perjury that you have a good-faith belief that the material was removed or disabled as a result of a mistake or misidentification;
- Your name, address, and telephone number, and a statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of the federal district court for the judicial district in which the address provided by you is located (or if the address provided by you is outside the United States, you consent to the jurisdiction of the federal district court for any judicial district in which SmugMug may be found), and that you will accept service of process from the person who provided the notice or an agent of such person; and
- Your physical or electronic signature* on the counter-notification.
*To satisfy the signature requirement, please designate the electronic signature by typing a forward slash before and after your name (e.g., /Jane Doe/). This format is intended to represent a signature and typed name as is customarily found within the signature block of business correspondence transmitted in hard copy.
Any counter-notification shall be submitted to SmugMug’s copyright agent in accordance with the contact information provided above.
To submit a counter-notification, we recommend you submit your notice using the following form: Counter-notification form.