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Terms of Use

CNN iReport TERMS OF USE
Last Updated: May 5, 2011

You are subject to both the CNN.com and CNN iReport terms of use. To the extent there is a conflict between the CNN.com and the CNN iReport terms of use, the CNN iReport terms of use shall govern relating to any submission you make to CNN iReport.

PLEASE READ THESE TERMS OF USE CAREFULLY BEFORE ACCESSING OR USING CNN IREPORT WEB PAGES. YOUR USE OF OR ACCESS TO, OR LICENSE OF INFORMATION, MATERIALS, PROGRAMMING, PRODUCTS, OR ANYTHING ELSE OF USE OR VALUE ON CNN IREPORT WEB PAGES CONSTITUTES AGREEMENT TO ABIDE BY THE TERMS OF USE THEN IN EFFECT. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THESE TERMS OF USE, DO NOT USE OR ACCESS CNN IREPORT WEB PAGES.

1. Acceptance of Terms of Use

Welcome to CNN iReport, a user-generated content section of CNN.com ("CNN", or "we"). CNN iReport provides various services subject to the following Terms of Use ("TOU" or "Terms of Use"). CNN reserves the right to alter these Terms of Use without advance notice by posting revised Terms of Use. Accordingly, you should review these Terms of Use each time you access any CNN iReport Web pages to stay informed of any changes to the Terms of Use. If the Terms of Use have been changed, the "Last Updated" notation at the top of this page will reflect the date of those changes. Any use of CNN iReport by you after such notice shall be deemed to constitute acceptance by you of such changes, modifications or additions.

2. General Terms of Use

CNN iReport is available for individuals aged 13 years or older. If you are under 13, please exit this website immediately. By using CNN iReport, you represent that you are 13 years of age or older and, if you are under the age of 18, you either are an emancipated minor, or have obtained the legal consent of your parent or legal guardian to enter into these Terms of Use, submit content, participate on this website, and fulfill the obligations set forth in the TOU, which forms a binding contract between you and CNN.

Employees (and their immediate families and household members) of CNN are not eligible to submit material.

These TOU apply to all of CNN iReport's current and future Web pages, unless otherwise provided, including but not limited to, the following sites: http://www.cnn.com/ireport/, http://ireport.cnn.com and http://www.cnnireport.com. In addition, when using particular services provided by CNN iReport, you shall be subject to any additional posted Terms of Use, guidelines or rules applicable to such services. All such Terms of Use, guidelines or rules are hereby incorporated by reference into the TOU. The TOU incorporates the terms of the CNN Privacy Policy. Please see our full privacy policy at: http://www.cnn.com/privacy.html.

For any portion of the CNN iReport Web pages that requires a user Account and/or password ("Account"), whether free of charge or for a fee, you are responsible for all use of your Account (under any screen name or password) and for ensuring that all use of your Account complies fully with the provisions of these Terms of Use. You shall be responsible for protecting the confidentiality of your user name(s) or password(s), if any.

CNN shall have the right at any time to change or discontinue any aspect or feature of CNN iReport, including, but not limited to, content, hours of availability, and equipment needed for access or use.

3. Definitions

"Account" has the definition above.

"CNN iReport" or "CNN iReport's Web pages" mean, collectively, CNN iReport and its affiliate Web sites, present and any future sites, including but not limited to: http://www.cnn.com/ireport/, http://ireport.cnn.com and http://www.cnnireport.com and any and all digital services relating to CNN iReport operated by CNN.

"You" means the user or visitor to CNN iReport.

"Privacy Policy" means CNN's current Privacy Policy, available at http://www.cnn.com/privacy.html.

"Terms of Use" means the current Terms of Use of service in effect as set forth herein or elsewhere on CNN iReport.

4. Changed Terms of Use

CNN shall have the right at any time to change or modify the Terms of Use and conditions applicable to your use of CNN iReport, or any part thereof, including but not limited to the CNN Privacy Policy, available at http://www.cnn.com/privacy.html or to impose new conditions, including, but not limited to, adding fees and charges for use. Such changes, modifications, additions or deletions shall be effective immediately upon notice thereof, which may be given by means including, but not limited to, posting on CNN iReport Web pages, or by electronic or conventional mail, or by any other means by which you obtain notice thereof. Any use of CNN iReport by you after such notice shall be deemed to constitute acceptance by you of such changes, modifications or additions. We recommend you bookmark this page and review it each time you use or access CNN iReport, noting the "Last Updated" information at the top of this page.

5. Submissions

By submitting your material, for good and valuable consideration, the sufficiency and receipt of which you hereby acknowledge, you hereby grant to CNN and its affiliates a non-exclusive, perpetual, worldwide license to edit, telecast, rerun, reproduce, use, create derivative works from, syndicate, license, print, sublicense, distribute and otherwise exhibit the materials you submit, or any portion thereof in any manner and in any medium or forum, whether now known or hereafter devised, without payment to you or any third party. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the event CNN licenses your material as stand-alone content outside of CNN's programming to third parties unaffiliated with CNN, CNN will pay you a percentage of the license fees it actually receives according to rates determined by CNN's licensing division, ImageSource. You agree and acknowledge that any materials you submit may be entered into the annual iReport Awards.

Your submissions are deemed non-confidential and CNN has no obligation to maintain the confidentiality of any information, in whatever form, contained in any submission, except pursuant to the CNN Privacy Policy, available at http://www.cnn.com/privacy.html.

You represent and warrant to CNN that you have the full legal right, power and authority to grant to CNN the license provided for herein, that you own or control the complete exhibition and other rights to the materials you submitted for the purposes contemplated in this license and that neither the materials nor the exercise of the rights granted herein shall infringe upon or violate the right of privacy or right of publicity of, or constitute a libel or slander against, or violate any common law or any other right of, any person or entity.

Users are solely responsible for anything contained in their submissions, message board and/or chat sessions. CNN does not verify, endorse or otherwise vouch for the contents of any submission, message board or chat room. Users may be held legally liable for the contents of their submissions, message board and chat sessions, and may be held legally liable if their submissions or chat sessions include, for example, material protected by copyright, trademark, patent or trade secret law or other proprietary right without permission of the author or owner, or defamatory comments.

Web site user submissions to CNN iReport do not represent the views of CNN iReport, CNN, or any individual associated with CNN iReport or CNN, and we do not control this content. In no event shall you represent or suggest, directly or indirectly, CNN's endorsement of user submissions. CNN does not vouch for the accuracy or credibility of any content submitted by users on our CNN iReport Web pages, and does not take any responsibility or assume any liability for any actions you may take as a result of reading user published content on CNN iReport. Through your use of CNN iReport, you may be exposed to content that you may find offensive, objectionable, harmful, inaccurate or deceptive. There may also be risks of dealing with underage persons, people acting under false pretense, international trade issues and foreign nationals. By using CNN iReport, you assume all associated risks.

6. Copyrighted Material

(A) CNN iReport contains copyrighted material, trademarks and other proprietary information, including, but not limited to, text, software, photos, video, graphics, music and sound, and the entire contents of CNN iReport are protected by United States copyright laws as a collective work and otherwise. CNN owns a copyright in the selection, coordination, arrangement and enhancement of such content, as well as in the content original to it. You may not modify, publish, transmit, license, participate in the transfer, licensing or sale, create derivative works, or in any way exploit any of the content, copyrights, trademarks, or other property interests therein, in whole or in part. When authorized by CNN, you may download copyrighted material for your personal use only. Except as otherwise expressly permitted under copyright law, no copying, redistribution, retransmission, licensing, publication or commercial exploitation of downloaded material will be permitted without the express written permission of CNN and the copyright owner, or owner of any other legal interests therein. In the event of any permitted copying, redistribution or publication of copyrighted material, no changes in or deletion of author attribution, trademarks legend or copyright notice shall be made. You acknowledge that you do not acquire any ownership rights by downloading copyrighted material. For further information on U.S. copyright law, you may wish to visit the Web site of the U.S. Copyright Office at: http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/.

(B) CNN may, from time to time, be a distributor (and not a publisher) of content supplied by third parties other than users of CNN iReport. Accordingly, CNN has no more editorial control over such content than does a public library, bookstore or newsstand. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers, or other information or content expressed or made available by third parties, including information providers, you or any other user of CNN iReport, are those of the respective author(s) or distributor(s) and not of CNN iReport or CNN. Neither CNN nor any third-party provider of information guarantees the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any content, nor its merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose. CNN neither endorses nor is responsible for the accuracy or reliability of any opinion, advice or statement made on CNN iReport by anyone other than authorized CNN employees acting in their official capacities. Under no circumstances shall CNN be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on information, opinion, advice or other content available through CNN iReport.

(C) CNN respects the copyrights of others and expects its users to do the same. By uploading, posting or otherwise making available content on CNN iReport, you represent that you own or otherwise have the intellectual property rights to submit such materials. You shall not upload, post or otherwise make available on CNN iReport any material protected by copyright, trademark or other proprietary right without the express written permission of the owner of the copyright, trademark or other proprietary right and the burden of determining that any material is not protected by copyright or other proprietary rights rests with you. You shall be solely liable for any damage resulting from any infringement of copyrights, proprietary rights, or any other harm resulting from such a submission. By submitting material to any public area of CNN iReport, you automatically grant, or warrant that the owner of such material has expressly granted CNN the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive right and license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate and distribute such material (in whole or in part) worldwide and/or to incorporate it in other works in any form, media or technology now known or hereafter developed for the full term of any copyright and any other proprietary rights that may exist in such material. You also permit any other user to access, view, store or reproduce the material for that individual's personal use on CNN iReport. You hereby grant CNN the right to edit, copy, publish and distribute any such material made available on CNN iReport by you.

(D) If you believe you have a claim of copyright infringement with respect to material that is posted on CNN iReport's Web pages, you may give CNN written notification of your claim in accordance with the requirements of the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 as explained below at http://ireport.cnn.com/terms.jspa#DMCA.

7. Conduct on CNN iReport

(A) If you submit any materials or participate in any online forum or any other forum or similar service within or in connection with CNN iReport, you agree to abide by the following rules of conduct:

  • You agree not to post or transmit through CNN iReport any material that violates or infringes in any way upon the rights of others, including any statements which may defame, abuse, harass, stalk or threaten others;
  • You agree not to post or transmit through CNN iReport any material that is offensive to the online community, including blatant expressions of bigotry, racism, abusiveness, vulgarity or profanity;
  • You agree not to post or transmit through CNN iReport any material that contains or advocates pornography, pedophilia, incest or bestiality;
  • You agree not to post or transmit through CNN iReport any statements that advocate or provide instruction on illegal activity or discuss illegal activities with the intent to commit them;
  • You agree not to post or transmit through CNN iReport any material that infringes and/or violates any right of a third party or any law, engage in activity that would constitute a criminal offense or give rise to a civil liability;
  • You agree not to post or transmit through CNN iReport any vulgar or obscene language or images;
  • You agree not to post or transmit through CNN iReport, without CNN's express prior approval, material which contains advertising or any solicitation with respect to products or services;
  • You agree not to post or transmit through CNN iReport, any software or other materials which contain a virus or other harmful or disruptive component;
  • You agree not to post or transmit through CNN iReport material or statements that do not generally pertain to the designated topic or theme of any chat room or bulletin board;
  • You agree not to upload, post, or otherwise make available on CNN iReport Web pages any material protected by copyright, trademark, trade secret, right of publicity or other proprietary right without the express permission of the owner of such copyright, trademark, trade secret, right of publicity or other proprietary right. Any person determined by CNN, in its sole discretion, to have repeatedly violated the intellectual property or other rights of others shall be barred from submitting or posting any further material on CNN iReport's Web pages;
  • You agree not to impersonate any person or entity, including, but not limited to, any CNN employee, or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity;
  • You agree not to interfere with any other user's right to privacy, including by harvesting or collecting personally-identifiable information about CNN iReport users;
  • You agree not to interfere with or disrupt the CNN iReport Web pages or servers or networks connected to the Web pages, or disobey any requirements, procedures, policies or regulations of networks connected to the Web pages;
  • You agree not to upload, post, e-mail or otherwise transmit any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, "junk mail," "spam," "chain letters," "pyramid schemes," or any other form of solicitation;
  • You agree not to reproduce, duplicate, copy, sell, resell or exploit for any commercial purposes, any portion of CNN iReport's Web pages, use of the Web pages, or access to the Web pages;
  • You agree that if necessary, you have the consent of each and every identifiable natural person in any submission to use such persons name or likeness in the manner contemplated by CNN iReport; and
  • You agree that no person who appears in your submission, who is a current member of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), the American Federation of Television and Radio Actors (AFTRA) or any other rights society, is entitled to compensation from CNN.

Any conduct that in CNN's sole discretion restricts or inhibits anyone else from using or enjoying CNN iReport will not be permitted. CNN reserves the right in its sole discretion to remove or edit messages or material submitted by you and to terminate your account for any reason. CNN is not responsible for material submitted to CNN iReport or posted in chat rooms, on bulletin boards or on other forums by users of CNN iReport.

(B) The foregoing provisions of this Section 7 are for the benefit of CNN, its subsidiaries, affiliates and its third party content providers and licensors and each shall have the right to assert and enforce such provisions directly or on its own behalf.

8. Monitoring

CNN shall have the right, but not the obligation, to monitor the content of CNN iReport, including online forums, to determine compliance with these Terms of Use. CNN shall have the right in its sole discretion to edit, refuse to post or remove any material submitted to or posted on CNN iReport. Without limiting the foregoing, CNN iReport shall have the right to remove any material that CNN, in its sole discretion, finds to be in violation of the provisions hereof or otherwise objectionable. In addition, CNN may share personally identifiable information in response to a law enforcement agency’s request, or where we believe it is necessary, or as otherwise required or permitted by law. See CNN Privacy Policy located at http://ireport.cnn.com/privacy.jspa.

The decision by CNN iReport to monitor and/or modify the content of CNN iReport does not constitute nor shall it be deemed to constitute any responsibility or liability in any manner on the part of CNN iReport in connection with or arising from use by you of CNN iReport or participation in any online forums or interactive features of CNN iReport.

9. Third-Party Links, Sponsors and Frames

(A) CNN iReport may provide links to other World Wide Web sites or resources. Because CNN has no control over such sites and resources, you acknowledge and agree that CNN is not responsible for the availability of such external sites or resources, and does not endorse and is not responsible or liable for any content, advertising, products, or other materials on or available from such sites or resources. You further acknowledge and agree that CNN shall not be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with use of or reliance on any such content, goods or services available on or through any such site or resource. You should direct any concerns regarding any external resource to the proprietor(s) of that site.

(B) CNN iReport may contain commercial images and/or links to sponsors of CNN iReport. CNN is not responsible or liable for the content of those images and/or links.

(C) No third party may use framing technologies or functionalities to contain any content provided by CNN iReport, for purposes either commercial or non-commercial, without express prior and written consent from CNN.

(D) No third party may provide links to any content within CNN iReport without the express prior written consent from CNN.

10. Disclaimer of Warranty; Limitation of Liability

(A) You expressly agree that use of CNN iReport is at your sole risk. Neither CNN iReport, its affiliates nor any of their respective employees, or agents warrant that CNN iReport will be uninterrupted or error free; nor do they make any warranty as to the results that may be obtained from use of CNN iReport, or as to the accuracy, reliability or content of any information, service, or merchandise provided through CNN iReport.

(B) CNN iReport IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" BASIS WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, WARRANTIES OF TITLE OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OTHER THAN THOSE WARRANTIES WHICH ARE IMPLIED BY AND INCAPABLE OF EXCLUSION, RESTRICTION OR MODIFICATION UNDER THE LAWS APPLICABLE TO THESE TERMS OF USE.

(C) THIS DISCLAIMER OF LIABILITY APPLIES TO ANY DAMAGES OR INJURY CAUSED BY ANY FAILURE OF PERFORMANCE, ERROR, OMISSION, INTERRUPTION, DELETION, DEFECT, DELAY IN OPERATION OR TRANSMISSION,COMPUTER VIRUS, COMMUNICATION LINE FAILURE, THEFT OR DESTRUCTION OR UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO, ALTERATION OF, OR USE OF RECORD, WHETHER FOR BREACH OF CONTRACT, TORTIOUS BEHAVIOR, NEGLIGENCE, OR UNDER ANY OTHER CAUSE OF ACTION. YOU SPECIFICALLY ACKNOWLEDGE THAT CNN IS NOT LIABLE FOR THE DEFAMATORY, OFFENSIVE OR ILLEGAL CONDUCT OF OTHER USERS OR VISITORS OF CNN iReport OR THIRD PARTIES AND THAT THE RISK OF INJURY FROM THE FOREGOING RESTS ENTIRELY WITH YOU.

(D) IN NO EVENT WILL CNN, ITS PARENT OR AFFILIATED COMPANIES, OR ANY PERSON OR ENTITY INVOLVED IN CREATING, PRODUCING OR DISTRIBUTING CNN iReport, BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE CNN iReport, NOR SHALL CNN, ITS PARENTS OR AFFILIATED COMPANIES, OR ANY PERSON OR ENTITY INVOLVED IN CREATING, PRODUCING OR DISTRIBUTING CNN iReport BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES, CLAIMS, OR INJURY, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR PERSONAL OR BODILY INJURY, ARISING FROM OR IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR CREATING CONTENT, BY VIDEOTAPING, PHOTOGRAPHY OR OTHERWISE, FOR SUBMISSION TO CNN iReport, AND YOU HEREBY ASSUME ALL RISK FOR ANY DAMAGES, CLAIMS OR INJURIES. YOU HEREBY ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE PROVISIONS OF SECTION 10 SHALL APPLY TO ALL CONTENT ON CNN iReport

(E) IN ADDITION TO THE TERMS OF SERVICE SET FORTH ABOVE, NEITHER CNN, NOR ITS PARENT OR AFFILIATED COMPANIES, INFORMATION PROVIDERS OR CONTENT PARTNERS SHALL BE LIABLE REGARDLESS OF THE CAUSE OR DURATION, FOR ANY ERRORS, INACCURACIES, OMISSIONS, OR OTHER DEFECTS IN, OR UNTIMELINESS OR INAUTHENTICITY OF, THE INFORMATION CONTAINED WITHIN CNN iReport, OR FOR ANY DELAY OR INTERRUPTION IN THE TRANSMISSIONTHEREOF TO THE USER, OR FOR ANY CLAIMS OR LOSSES ARISING THEREFROM OR OCCASIONED THEREBY. NONE OF THE FOREGOING PARTIES SHALL BE LIABLE FOR ANY THIRD-PARTY CLAIMS OR LOSSES OF ANY NATURE INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, LOST PROFITS, PUNITIVE OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES. NEITHER CNN iReport, NOR ITS PARENT OR AFFILIATED COMPANIES, INFORMATION PROVIDERS OR CONTENT PARTNERS WARRANT OR GUARANTEE THE TIMELINESS, SEQUENCE, ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THIS INFORMATION. ADDITIONALLY, THERE ARE NO WARRANTIES AS TO THE RESULTS OBTAINED FROM THE USE OF THE INFORMATION.

(F) CNN disclaims any and all liability of any kind for any unauthorized access to or use of your personally identifiable information. By accessing CNN iReport, you acknowledge and agree to CNN's disclaimer of any such liability. If you do not agree, you should not access or use CNN iReport.

11. Termination

You agree that CNN, in its sole discretion, may terminate your Account, password, and User Name and/or use of the CNN iReport Web pages, and may remove and discard any content within the CNN iReport Web pages, for any reason, including, without limitation, if CNN believes that you have violated or acted inconsistently with the letter or spirit of these Terms of Use. You agree that any termination of your access to the CNN iReport Web pages under any provision of this Terms of Use may be effected without prior notice, and acknowledge and agree that CNN may immediately deactivate or delete your Account, password, and User Name and all related information and files associated with it and/or bar any further access to such files or the CNN iReport Web pages. Further, you agree that CNN shall not be liable to you or any third-party for any termination of your access to the Web pages. The provisions of Sections 6, 9 (C), 9 (D), 10, 12, 13 and this Section 11, shall survive termination of these Terms of Use.

12. Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmlessCNN, its affiliates and their respective directors, officers, employees and agents from and against all claims and expenses, including attorneys' fees, arising out of the use of CNN iReport by you or your Account by you or any other person using the Account. CNN reserves the right to take over the exclusive defense of any claim for which we are entitled to indemnification under this Section. In such event, you shall provide CNN with such cooperation as is reasonably requested by CNN.

13. Trademarks

"CNN iReport" and the CNN iReport logo, are service marks of CNN. All rights reserved. All other trademarks, logos and service marks appearing on CNN iReport are the property of CNN or their respective owners.

14. Miscellaneous

These Terms of Use and any operating rules for CNN iReport established by CNN constitute the entire agreement of the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof, and supersede all previous written or oral agreements between the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof. These Terms of Use shall be construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Georgia, without regard to its conflict of laws rules. If you access CNN iReport from any location other than the United States, you accept full responsibility for compliance with all local laws. You are also subject to United States export controls and are responsible for any violations of United States embargoes or other federal rules and regulations restricting exports. No waiver by either party of any breach or default hereunder shall be deemed to be a waiver of any preceding or subsequent breach or default. If any part of these Terms of Use is found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid or unenforceable, it will be replaced with language reflecting the original purpose in a valid and enforceable manner. The enforceable sections of these Terms of Use will remain binding upon the parties.

15. Force Majeure

Neither CNN nor you shall be liable for damages or for delays or failures in performance resulting from acts or occurrences beyond their reasonable control, including, without limitation: fire, lightning, explosion, power surge or failure, water, acts of God, war, terrorism, revolution, civil commotion or acts of civil or military authorities or public enemies: any law, order, regulation, ordinance, or requirement of any government or legal body or any representative of any such government or legal body; or labor unrest, including without limitation, strikes, slowdowns, picketing, or boycotts; inability to secure raw materials, transportation facilities, fuel or energy shortages, or acts or omissions of other common carriers.


Compliance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998

CNN is committed to full compliance with U.S. copyright law, and expects its users to do the same. Accordingly, as a courtesy, CNN is providing the following information regarding its understanding of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 ("DMCA") concerning notice of claimed online copyright infringement. CNN is not providing legal advice. Any persons wishing to assert or oppose a claim under the DMCA should consult their own legal adviser concerning these matters.

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 ("DMCA") provides recourse for owners of copyrighted material who believe that their rights under U.S. copyright laws have been infringed online. Under the DMCA, copyright owners may contact the authorized agent of an Internet service provider to report alleged infringements based on unauthorized use of their protected works appearing on web pages hosted by the service provider. Upon receipt of properly filed complaints satisfying the requirements of the DMCA, CNN will remove or block access to the allegedly infringing material posted by third party users of the CNN iReport Web pages. If an CNN iReport user who posted such material believes in good faith that a notice of copyright infringement has been wrongly filed, the user may submit a counter-notice to assert a private dispute with the claimed copyright owner. CNN will not be a party to such disputes over alleged copyright infringement.

Notification of Claimed Copyright Infringement.

If you believe in good faith that information posted by a user on an CNN iReport Web site violates your rights under U.S. copyright law, click here.

Responding to a Claim of Copyright Infringement.

If you receive a notice of copyright infringement for material you have posted on an iReport Web site, click here.

More information on U.S. copyright law can be found at the following Web sites:

If you believe in good faith that information posted by a user on CNN iReport violates your rights under U.S. copyright law, you may notify CNN in the manner described below. You should be aware that U.S. copyright law provides substantial penalties for false claims of copyright infringement. According to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 ("DMCA"), claimants who make misrepresentations concerning copyright infringement may be liable for damages incurred as a result of the removal or blocking of the material, court costs, and attorney's fees.


Notice and Procedure for Making Claims of Copyright Infringement regarding Materials on CNN iReport

You may give CNN written notification of your claim in accordance with the requirements of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 as provided in the DMCA and summarized below. The CNN iReport Copyright Administrator is CNN's "Designated Agent" for purposes of receiving notice under the DMCA relating to CNN iReport.

Written notification of your claim must be submitted to the following Designated Agent to Receive Notification of Claimed Infringement:

Name: Copyright Administrator
Address: P O Box 162093 Atlanta GA 30321-2091
FAX Number: 404-858-4093
Telephone Number: 1-877-562-7103
E-mail Address: copyright@ireport.com

To be effective, the notification must include the following:

  1. A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed;
  2. Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or if multiple copyrighted works at a single online Web site are covered by a single notification, a representative list of works at that site;
  3. Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity and that is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled, and information reasonably sufficient to permit the service provider to locate the material;
  4. Information reasonably sufficient to permit CNN to contact the complaining party, such as an address, telephone number, and if available, an electronic mail address at which the complaining party may be contacted;
  5. A statement that the complaining party has 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; and
  6. A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.
  7. Upon receipt of the written notification containing the information as outlined in paragraphs 1) through 6) above:
    1. CNN shall remove or disable access to the material that is alleged to be infringing and shall forward the written notification to the person or entity who posted the material at issue;
    2. CNN shall take reasonable steps to promptly notify the alleged infringer that it has removed or disabled access to the material.

Counter Notification

A person who receives a notification of alleged copyright infringement, and believes that the claim is erroneous, may submit a counter notification to CNN's Designated Agent relating to CNN iReport within thirty (30) days of the date the material was removed from the site.

To be effective, a counter notification must be a written communication that includes substantially the following:

  1. A physical or electronic signature of the person submitting the counter notification;
  2. Identification of the material that has been removed or to which access has been disabled and the location at which the material appeared before it was removed or access to it was disabled;
  3. A statement under penalty of perjury that the person submitting the counter notification has a good faith belief that the material was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification of the material or the owner of the rights to be removed or disabled; and
  4. The person's name, address, and telephone number, and a statement that the he or she consents to the jurisdiction of federal district court for the judicial district in which the address is located, or if the person's address is outside of the United States, for any judicial district in which CNN may be found, and that the person will accept service of process from the complaining party or an agent of such person.
  5. Upon receipt of a counter notification containing the information as outlined in paragraphs 1) through 4) above:
    1. CNN shall promptly provide the complaining party with a copy of the Counter Notification; and
    2. CNN shall inform the complaining party that it will replace the removed material or cease disabling access to it within ten (10) business days.

CNN shall replace the removed material or cease disabling access to the material within ten (10) to fourteen (14) business days following receipt of the counter notification, provided CNN's Designated Agent relating to CNN iReport has not received notice from the complaining party that an action has been filed seeking a court order to restrain the alleged infringer from engaging in infringing activity on CNN iReport'.



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