DMCA & Copyright Policy

1.1 Respect for Intellectual Property

1.2 User Responsibility for Rights

1.3 Host and Participant Responsibility

ChallengeForge respects the rights of authors, artists, photographers, videographers, musicians, designers, developers, performers, creators, publishers, brands, sponsors, licensors, and other rights holders. The Platform is designed to help users create, host, discover, participate in, support, vote on, judge, manage, and promote Campaigns. It is not designed to help users copy, misuse, misappropriate, impersonate, counterfeit, or infringe the rights of others.

You must not use the Platform to upload, post, submit, import, generate, display, distribute, sell, license, promote, perform, publish, copy, modify, or otherwise exploit content that you do not have the right to use. This applies even if the content is available online, appears in search results, is posted on social media, was created by someone you know, is generated or modified by AI, is part of a fan work, is used for a nonprofit purpose, is used in a Campaign entry, is used only briefly, is used with attribution, or is used in a way you believe is fair. Attribution alone does not create permission.

You are solely responsible for your User Content and for all rights needed to use it on or through the Platform. This includes photos, videos, artwork, illustrations, designs, music, sound recordings, audio clips, voice recordings, logos, graphics, icons, fonts, text, articles, essays, code, datasets, prompts, AI inputs, AI outputs, names, usernames, handles, biographies, likenesses, images of people, publicity rights, trademarks, trade dress, brand assets, sponsor assets, product images, screenshots, templates, documents, and any other materials you provide, upload, submit, import, generate, publish, or make available.

If your User Content includes third-party material, you are responsible for confirming that your use is lawful and allowed. You must comply with license terms, open-source terms, stock media restrictions, music licenses, model releases, location releases, sponsor approvals, brand guidelines, employment obligations, confidentiality obligations, collaboration agreements, Campaign rules, and any other restrictions that apply. If you are unsure whether you have rights, do not upload or use the content on the Platform until you have obtained permission or qualified legal advice.

Hosts are responsible for Campaign pages, rules, sponsor descriptions, prize descriptions, advertising, judging materials, promotional assets, uploaded files, use of Participant submissions, reposts, winner announcements, emails, public pages, and any other content used in connection with their Campaigns. Participants are responsible for their entries, submissions, portfolios, project pages, comments, uploads, votes, supporting materials, and communications. Team members, organizations, sponsors, judges, agencies, contractors, and administrators are responsible for the content they provide or approve.

ChallengeForge may provide templates, formatting tools, AI-enabled features, upload flows, campaign builders, example language, and infrastructure. Those tools do not transfer responsibility for rights clearance to ChallengeForge. You remain responsible for deciding whether content may be used, whether permissions are sufficient, and whether your Campaign or submission complies with law and applicable agreements.

2.1 Platform Provider Only

2.2 No Ownership or Endorsement of User Uploads

2.3 DMCA Safe Harbor Position

2.4 Removal Without Admission

ChallengeForge is a technology platform, software provider, and hosting facilitator. We provide tools that allow users to create Campaigns, submit content, display materials, communicate, vote, judge, donate, purchase, receive payouts, and manage related activity. Unless we expressly state otherwise in a signed written agreement, ChallengeForge does not create, approve, sponsor, endorse, own, license, verify, control, or guarantee User Content merely because it appears on or is processed through the Platform.

The presence of User Content on the Platform does not mean that ChallengeForge owns it, endorses it, has reviewed it, has verified rights in it, has approved its use, or has agreed that it is lawful. Public display, hosting, caching, indexing, previewing, resizing, transcoding, thumbnailing, embedding, emailing, analyzing, or otherwise processing User Content are technical and operational functions of the Platform. Those functions do not make ChallengeForge the author, publisher, licensor, sponsor, judge, legal owner, or rights-clearance provider for User Content.

ChallengeForge intends to operate as a qualifying online service provider under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. 512, and related safe harbor principles where applicable. We maintain a designated agent to receive copyright notices, provide notice-and-takedown procedures, accept counter-notices where legally permitted, and adopt a policy for terminating repeat infringers in appropriate circumstances. Nothing in this Policy waives any safe harbor, immunity, limitation of liability, defense, or other protection available to ChallengeForge under law.

We may remove, disable, restrict, demote, unpublish, archive, block, or limit access to User Content, Campaigns, submissions, pages, files, communications, accounts, features, payments, payouts, or other Platform activity in response to an intellectual property complaint, legal risk, court order, rights concern, user report, automated signal, or our own review. Taking action does not mean that ChallengeForge agrees with a complaint, admits liability, decides ownership, endorses a claimant, or makes a final legal determination. Declining to take action does not mean that ChallengeForge approves the content or rejects the rights holder's position.

3.1 When to Submit a DMCA Notice

3.2 Required Information for a Takedown Notice

3.3 Helpful Additional Information

3.4 Immediate Removal or Restriction

If you are a copyright owner or are authorized to act on behalf of a copyright owner and you believe that material on the Platform infringes your copyright, you may submit a written notice to our designated DMCA agent. Your notice must include the information required by 17 U.S.C. 512(c)(3) and this Policy. Please be specific. Incomplete, inaccurate, unclear, abusive, or legally insufficient notices may delay review or may not be processed.

Your DMCA takedown notice must include all of the following:

1. Identification of the copyrighted work you claim has been infringed. If your notice covers multiple works, you may provide a representative list, but the list must be clear enough for us to understand what works are at issue. 2. Identification of the material you claim is infringing or is the subject of infringing activity, with enough detail for us to locate it on the Platform. 3. The URL, Campaign page, submission page, account identifier, file location, screenshot, title, description, or other specific location of the allegedly infringing material. 4. Your name, mailing address, telephone number, and email address. 5. A statement that you have a good-faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, the copyright owner's agent, or the law. 6. A statement that the information in the notice is accurate and, under penalty of perjury, that you are the copyright owner or are authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner. 7. Your physical or electronic signature.

You may send notices to [DMCA_AGENT_EMAIL] or copyright@challengeforge.com. If you are sending a formal DMCA notice, you should direct it to the designated agent listed in Section 11.

To help us review your notice, you may include registration numbers, copies of the original work, publication dates, proof of ownership, license information, screenshots, comparison notes, archived links, account names, Campaign names, submission identifiers, and any prior communication with the user. Do not send confidential information unless it is necessary to evaluate the complaint. We may share your notice, including your contact information and allegations, with the user who posted the material, with a Host, with a Participant, with service providers, with legal advisors, or with others as needed to process the notice, enforce our policies, or comply with law.

We may remove, disable, restrict, or limit access to allegedly infringing material immediately after receiving a notice, before completing a full review, or before contacting the user who posted the material. We may also remove related copies, previews, thumbnails, embeds, campaign assets, reposts, promotional materials, or derivative display formats where appropriate. We may notify the affected user and provide information about counter-notice rights where legally required or operationally appropriate.

4.1 When to Submit a Counter-Notice

4.2 Required Information for a Counter-Notice

4.3 Possible Restoration

4.4 Campaign Timing and Counter-Notices

If your content was removed or disabled because of a copyright notice and you believe the removal or disabling was a mistake or misidentification, you may submit a written counter-notice. Counter-notices are serious legal communications. Do not submit a counter-notice unless you have a good-faith belief that the material was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification and you are prepared to accept the legal consequences of the statements you make.

Your counter-notice must include all of the following:

1. Identification of the material that was removed or disabled. 2. The location where the material appeared before it was removed or disabled, such as the URL, Campaign page, submission page, account identifier, file location, title, or description. 3. Your name, mailing address, telephone number, and email address. 4. 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. 5. A statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of the federal district court for the judicial district in which your address is located, or if your address is outside the United States, to the jurisdiction of the federal courts located in the district where ChallengeForge may be found, and that you will accept service of process from the person who submitted the original notice or that person's agent. 6. Your physical or electronic signature.

You may send counter-notices to [DMCA_AGENT_EMAIL] or copyright@challengeforge.com. We may require additional information if your counter-notice is incomplete or if we cannot identify the removed material.

After receiving a valid counter-notice, we may forward it to the person who submitted the original copyright notice. Where legally permitted, we may restore the removed material or re-enable access if the original claimant does not notify us within the applicable period that they have filed an action seeking a court order to restrain the user from engaging in infringing activity. We may decline to restore material where restoration is not legally permitted, would violate our Terms, would create risk, would affect Campaign integrity, would conflict with a court order, would violate another policy, or would otherwise be inappropriate in our sole discretion.

Campaigns often involve deadlines, judging periods, voting windows, prizes, public pages, sponsor obligations, or payout flows. A counter-notice does not guarantee that content will be restored before a Campaign deadline, judging decision, vote count, prize award, or payout. We are not responsible for Campaign effects caused by copyright notices, removals, delays, restrictions, counter-notice processing, legal disputes, or rights-holder claims.

5.1 Repeat Infringers

5.2 Sole Discretion

5.3 Evasion and Related Accounts

ChallengeForge may suspend, restrict, disable, or terminate accounts of users who repeatedly infringe or are repeatedly accused of infringing intellectual property rights in appropriate circumstances. We may also remove or restrict Campaigns, submissions, files, comments, profiles, payment features, payout access, voting access, judging access, messaging, integrations, or other Platform activity connected to repeat infringement concerns.

We determine how to apply this repeat infringer policy in our sole discretion, subject to applicable law. We may consider the number of notices received, the apparent validity of notices, counter-notices, patterns of conduct, the user's response, the nature of the content, the user's history, whether the user appears to be evading enforcement, whether multiple accounts or Campaigns are involved, whether the conduct creates risk for rights holders or ChallengeForge, and other relevant factors. We may act after one serious infringement allegation if the circumstances warrant.

You may not evade enforcement by creating new accounts, using another user's account, changing Campaign names, reposting removed material, modifying files to avoid detection, using alternate domains, hiding infringing material behind access controls, or directing users to infringing material outside the Platform. We may treat related accounts, workspaces, organizations, Campaigns, administrators, and collaborators as connected where appropriate.

6.1 Trademark Complaints

6.2 Brand Impersonation and False Sponsorship

6.3 Trademark Review and Removal

If you believe that content on the Platform misuses your trademark, service mark, trade name, logo, trade dress, brand asset, or other source identifier, you may contact legal@challengeforge.com with enough information for us to evaluate the complaint. Include the mark at issue, your registration numbers if available, the jurisdiction of registration or use, the allegedly infringing material, the URL or location on the Platform, your contact information, your relationship to the rights holder, and an explanation of why the use is likely to cause confusion or otherwise violates your rights.

You may not use the Platform to impersonate a brand, sponsor, employer, school, nonprofit, government entity, public figure, creator, team, agency, partner, or other organization. You may not use unauthorized logos, badges, seals, brand names, product images, trade dress, screenshots, sponsor names, partnership claims, verification claims, or official-sounding language in a way that falsely suggests sponsorship, endorsement, affiliation, approval, employment, certification, authorization, prize support, judging involvement, donation affiliation, or official status.

Trademark disputes often require context and may involve nominative use, comparative use, commentary, resale, fan activity, sponsorship disclosures, geographic rights, or competing claims. ChallengeForge is not obligated to adjudicate trademark ownership or decide complex marketplace disputes. We may remove, disable, restrict, label, or limit visibility of material while reviewing a trademark complaint. We may also ask for additional information, contact the user, preserve evidence, require changes to Campaign materials, restrict payment or payout features, or decline to act where a complaint is incomplete, abusive, unsupported, or outside our role as a platform provider.

7.1 AI Does Not Remove Rights Obligations

7.2 No AI Infringement or Impersonation

7.3 AI Review and Enforcement

AI-generated, AI-assisted, AI-edited, or AI-transformed content is still User Content. Using AI does not eliminate your obligations to respect copyright, trademarks, publicity rights, privacy rights, confidentiality obligations, licenses, Campaign rules, or other restrictions. You are responsible for AI inputs, prompts, reference files, training materials you provide, outputs you publish, edits you make, and how AI content is used in Campaigns or submissions.

You may not use AI features or third-party AI tools in connection with the Platform to infringe rights, copy protected works unlawfully, create unauthorized derivatives, imitate an artist or creator in a misleading or unlawful way, clone a voice without permission, generate a person's likeness without required consent, forge documents, fabricate sponsorship, impersonate a brand, bypass content restrictions, strip watermarking, remove copyright management information, or misrepresent authorship or source.

We may review AI-related content under this Policy, the Terms, the Host Agreement, Campaign rules, and applicable law. We may remove or restrict AI content based on copyright complaints, trademark complaints, publicity rights concerns, impersonation concerns, rights-holder reports, user reports, automated signals, or our own assessment. We are not responsible for determining whether AI content is protectable, who owns it, whether it was trained lawfully, or whether a particular output infringes a third party's rights.

8.1 Review Process

8.2 Preservation and Disclosure

8.3 Cooperation With Rights Holders and Authorities

8.4 No Obligation to Adjudicate Ownership

When we receive an intellectual property complaint, we may review the complaint, review the reported material, preserve evidence, contact the complaining party, contact the user who posted the material, contact a Host or administrator, request additional information, compare materials, check Platform records, restrict visibility, remove material, disable access, suspend features, terminate accounts, or take no action. The process may vary depending on the type of complaint, urgency, legal requirements, Campaign status, risk, and information available.

We may preserve records related to complaints, notices, counter-notices, User Content, Campaigns, accounts, IP addresses, timestamps, payments, payouts, communications, moderation decisions, and enforcement actions where we believe preservation is appropriate for legal compliance, dispute resolution, fraud prevention, safety, security, repeat infringer analysis, or Platform integrity. We may disclose information to rights holders, users, Hosts, service providers, legal advisors, courts, law enforcement, regulators, payment processors, or authorities where appropriate or required by law.

We may cooperate with rights holders, authorized agents, law enforcement, regulators, courts, payment networks, hosting providers, domain providers, app stores, and other authorities in connection with intellectual property complaints, counterfeit concerns, fraud, impersonation, unlawful content, or suspected rights violations. Cooperation may include preserving evidence, removing material, restricting accounts, responding to legal process, or providing information where legally permitted or required.

ChallengeForge is not a court, arbitrator, rights registry, collecting society, trademark office, copyright office, licensing agency, or ownership tribunal. We are not obligated to adjudicate ownership disputes, decide authorship, interpret private contracts, determine fair use, resolve collaboration disputes, evaluate licensing chains, calculate royalties, decide whether a Campaign sponsor approved a use, or determine whether a user breached an agreement with a third party. Those disputes are usually between the affected parties.

9.1 Campaign Removal and Restrictions

9.2 No Responsibility for Campaign Consequences

9.3 Relationship to Other Terms

An intellectual property complaint may affect a Campaign, submission, vote, ranking, judging process, prize award, public page, promotion, donation flow, payment, payout, sponsor relationship, or user account. We may remove or restrict specific content or the entire Campaign. We may also pause submissions, disable voting, hide rankings, delay or block payouts, require Host action, notify Participants, restrict sponsor materials, archive Campaign pages, or take other measures needed to reduce legal, operational, or user risk.

ChallengeForge is not responsible for losses, missed deadlines, lost votes, lost rankings, disqualifications, prize changes, sponsor issues, reputational harm, payment delays, payout holds, campaign interruptions, lost promotional value, lost opportunities, or other consequences arising from intellectual property complaints, takedowns, counter-notices, investigations, restrictions, removals, user disputes, rights-holder claims, or legal process. Hosts and Participants are responsible for ensuring that Campaign materials and submissions can lawfully be used before they are published or submitted.

This Policy supplements the Terms of Service, Host Agreement, and any applicable Campaign rules. The Terms and Host Agreement include additional rights, licenses, restrictions, disclaimers, indemnities, enforcement rights, liability limits, and dispute provisions. If this Policy conflicts with the Terms or Host Agreement, the Terms or Host Agreement control unless this Policy is required by applicable law for the specific notice, counter-notice, or safe harbor procedure at issue.

10.1 False Notices and Counter-Notices

10.2 Legal Consequences

10.3 Platform Enforcement for Abuse

Do not submit false, fraudulent, abusive, retaliatory, misleading, or bad-faith notices or counter-notices. Do not claim rights you do not own or control. Do not use the notice process to harass users, suppress lawful speech, gain a competitive advantage, interfere with Campaigns, manipulate judging or voting, retaliate against criticism, pressure a business dispute, or obtain personal information without a legitimate rights claim.

Under 17 U.S.C. 512(f), any person who knowingly materially misrepresents that material or activity is infringing, or that material or activity was removed or disabled by mistake or misidentification, may be liable for damages, including costs and attorneys' fees, incurred by the alleged infringer, the copyright owner or authorized licensee, or a service provider who is injured by the misrepresentation. False complaints, false counter-notices, forged signatures, impersonation, fabricated evidence, or abuse of reporting tools may also lead to account suspension, account termination, Campaign removal, payment restrictions, legal claims, and other remedies.

We may reject notices, counter-notices, or complaints that appear incomplete, abusive, fraudulent, automated in bulk without adequate review, unsupported, outside the scope of this Policy, or inconsistent with legal requirements. We may restrict or terminate accounts that misuse complaint processes, submit repeated unsupported claims, evade enforcement, threaten users improperly, or create legal or operational risk for ChallengeForge.

11.1 Agent for Copyright Notices

11.2 Sending Notices

11.3 Contact Accuracy

ChallengeForge's designated agent for notices under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. 512, is:

[DMCA_AGENT_NAME] [DMCA_AGENT_MAILING_ADDRESS] Email: [DMCA_AGENT_EMAIL] Additional copyright contact: copyright@challengeforge.com General legal contact: legal@challengeforge.com

Formal DMCA notices and counter-notices should be sent to the designated agent. Email is generally faster, but you may also use the mailing address above. If you send a notice by email, include "DMCA Notice" or "DMCA Counter-Notice" in the subject line. If you are reporting a non-copyright intellectual property issue, such as trademark misuse or brand impersonation, include a clear subject line such as "Trademark Complaint" or "Brand Impersonation Complaint."

You are responsible for providing accurate and current contact information in any notice or counter-notice. We may be unable to process your communication if we cannot contact you, identify the reported material, verify authority, or understand the legal basis for the request. Communications sent to other addresses, support channels, social media accounts, employees, contractors, or unrelated inboxes may be delayed or may not be treated as formal DMCA notices.

12.1 Informational Policy Only

12.2 Your Responsibility to Seek Advice

This Policy describes ChallengeForge's procedures and expectations. It is not legal advice, does not create an attorney-client relationship, and does not explain every right, defense, deadline, exception, or obligation that may apply. Copyright, trademark, publicity rights, fair use, licensing, AI content, safe harbor, and platform liability rules can be complex and fact-specific.

If you are unsure whether to submit a notice, submit a counter-notice, use content, rely on a license, claim fair use, display a brand asset, use AI-generated material, remove content, restore content, or take legal action, you should consult a qualified attorney. ChallengeForge support, templates, policies, AI outputs, help articles, and operational communications are not legal advice and should not be relied on as legal advice.

13.1 Updates

13.2 Prior Conduct and Ongoing Matters

We may update this Policy from time to time. We will post the updated Policy on the Platform or provide notice through reasonable means. The updated Policy becomes effective when posted or on the effective date stated in the notice, unless a different effective date is required by law. Your continued use of the Platform after the updated Policy takes effect means you accept the updated Policy.

Updated policies may apply to ongoing investigations, pending complaints, future notices, future counter-notices, repeat infringer analysis, and continued availability of content, to the extent permitted by law. We may continue to process notices and counter-notices under procedures that applied when they were received where appropriate or legally required.

14.1 Copyright Questions

14.2 Trademark and Brand Questions

14.3 General Legal Questions

For copyright notices, counter-notices, and DMCA questions, contact the designated agent listed in Section 11. You may also contact copyright@challengeforge.com for copyright-related issues that are not formal DMCA notices.

For trademark complaints, brand impersonation reports, unauthorized logo use, false sponsorship claims, or similar concerns, contact legal@challengeforge.com with enough detail for us to locate the material and understand the rights concern.

For other legal communications related to this Policy, contact legal@challengeforge.com. Sending a message does not guarantee that we will take a particular action, resolve a dispute, provide legal advice, or respond within a specific time. We may prioritize communications based on legal requirements, urgency, safety, Campaign impact, completeness, and Platform risk.