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This Intellectual Property Policy was last updated on January 21, 2021.

RTDC is a technology platform that enables Content Creators in Africa to create and share Submitted Content. Even though we may review Submitted Content created by our partners, we do not exercise editorial control for legal issues, and we are not in a position to determine the legality of course content. However, it is important to us that Content Creators publishing Submitted Content on RTDC respect the intellectual property of others. When Content Creators publish Submitted Content on our platform, they make the promise that they have the necessary authorization or rights to use all the content contained in their Submitted Content.

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 Submitted Content on the RTDC platform. The policy also addresses what we do when RTDC Content Creators’ Submitted Content are copied on third-party platforms without their consent.

Any capitalized terms that aren’t defined in this Policy are defined as specified in the Terms of Use.

  • Third-Party Copyright Infringement Reports
    • How to File a Report
    • Counter-Notification
  • Reports from Content Creators 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

RTDC’s policy is to remove Submitted Content 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 Submitted Content from any Content Creator who is determined to be a repeat infringer (for whom Ricasi Consultancy Limited has received more than two valid takedown notices). We reserve the right to terminate a Content Creator’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 RTDC platform 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, send an email to [email protected].

Before you submit a copyright infringement report, please remember these important things:

    1. 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 Content Creator who published the Submitted Content 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).
    2. 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 Submitted Content on the RTDC site (the URL on our website and the exact name of the Submitted Content and Content Creator;
      • You add a statement saying: “I declare, 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”.
    3. 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. Ricasi Consultancy Limited reserves the right to seek damages from anyone who submits a notification of claimed infringement in violation of the law.
    4. 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 detailed under ‘Third-Party Trademark Infringement Reports’ below.
    5. 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 Submitted Content’s use of your material qualifies as fair use, you should look at:
      • The purpose of the use (whether the Submitted Content is paid or unpaid, whether the Submitted Content 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 Submitted Content 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 Submitted Content 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 Content Creator who posted the reported Submitted Content along with a notification that 1) the Submitted Content was reported for copyright infringement and 2) we are removing the Submitted Content from the RTDC service. We will also attach a form that the Content Creator can fill in and send back to us to submit a counter-notification. If your Submitted Content has been reported for copyright infringement and removed from the RTDC 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 Submitted Content, 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 Ricasi Consultancy Limited’s 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 Submitted Content 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 Submitted Content, we always attach a copy when we notify you);
  • A statement under 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) Ricasi Consultancy Limited 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 Court of the Republic of Kenya.

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. Ricasi Consultancy Limited 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 Content Creators of Infringing Content on Other Platforms

We understand that when you post and make available your Submitted Content on the RTDC platform, you want to make sure that you will not find your Submitted Content offered on another platform without your permission. To help combat copyright infringement and piracy affecting Submitted Content of our Content Creators, we partner with 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 Submitted Content available on another platform without your permission, please send an email to [email protected]. Our anti-piracy vendor 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 Ricasi Consultancy Limited and the anti-piracy vendor don’t control the content on other sites, we may not always be successful. 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

Ricasi Consultancy Limited’s policy is to remove Submitted Content from our service when they are reported as infringing a third-party trademark. We also reserve the right to terminate a Content Creator’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 Ricasi Consultancy Limited’s copyright team 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:

  1. 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 the RTDC platform 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 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.
  2. Submitting a false or misleading claim of infringement could result in liability for you. Ricasi Consultancy Limited reserves the right to seek damages from any party that submits a false or misleading notification of claimed trademark infringement.
  3. Consider whether the use of your trademark in the Submitted Content 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 Submitted Content. Before you submit a trademark claim, make sure that use of your trademark in the course does not qualify as fair use.