DMCA / Copyright Policy

A site about patents and inventors should take intellectual property seriously, and we do. This policy explains how to tell us about material on prepatent.org that you believe infringes your copyright, and how we respond. It follows the notice-and-takedown process of the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), and we welcome equivalent notices from rights holders anywhere in the world.

Effective date: October 13, 2026

Our respect for intellectual property

PrePatent PrePartnering Wisdom is built around the idea that creators and inventors deserve fair recognition and reward for their work. We expect everyone who uses the site, including commenters and customers, to respect the copyrights, trademarks, patents and other rights of others.

We write our own articles and create our own tools. Where we use third-party material, such as historical patent drawings, images or short quotations, we rely on public-domain status, open licenses, permission, or legal exceptions such as fair use and fair dealing, and we give attribution where possible. Even so, mistakes can happen. If you believe we have used your work without permission, please tell us and we will look into it promptly.

Designated contact

Send copyright notices and counter-notices by email to:

• Email: [email protected]
• Subject line: “DMCA Notice” (or “DMCA Counter-Notice” for counter-notices)

We do not publish a postal address; please send all written notices to the email address above. Using the subject line helps us find and handle your notice quickly. This contact is only for copyright and related intellectual property matters. Other messages sent to it may not receive a response; for general questions, please use our contact page.

How to file a copyright infringement notice

To be effective under the DMCA, 17 U.S.C. §512(c)(3), your notice must be in writing and include substantially the following:

1. Signature. A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the exclusive right that is allegedly infringed. Typing your full legal name at the end of an email is generally accepted as an electronic signature.
2. The copyrighted work. Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed or, if multiple works are covered by a single notice, a representative list of those works.
3. The infringing material. Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing and that is to be removed or disabled, with information reasonably sufficient for us to locate it. The best way to do this is to give the full URL of each page and describe the specific text, image or file.
4. Your contact information. Information reasonably sufficient for us to contact you, such as your name, address, telephone number and email address.
5. Good-faith statement. 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, its agent or the law.
6. Accuracy and authority statement. A statement that the information in the notice is accurate and, under penalty of perjury, that you are authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

Before sending a notice, please consider whether the use may be permitted, for example as fair use, under an open license such as a Creative Commons license, or because the work is in the public domain. Notices that are incomplete may delay our response, and we may ask you for missing information.

What happens after we receive a notice

When we receive a valid notice, we will:

1. acknowledge receipt by email;
2. review the notice and the material identified;
3. remove or disable access to the material expeditiously where appropriate;
4. where the material was submitted by a user (for example, in a comment), make reasonable efforts to notify that user and provide a copy of the notice; and
5. keep a record of the notice.

Where the material is our own content and we believe our use is lawful, we may contact you to discuss it. We may also resolve the matter by adding attribution, replacing an image, or reaching an agreement with you.

Please note that a copy of your notice, including your contact details, may be shared with the person who posted the material so they can respond.

How to file a counter-notice

If material you posted was removed and you believe it was removed by mistake or misidentification, you may send a counter-notice. Under 17 U.S.C. §512(g)(3), it must be in writing and include substantially the following:

1. your physical or electronic signature;
2. identification of the material that has been removed or to which access has been disabled, and the location at which it appeared before it was removed or disabled;
3. 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 of the material to be removed or disabled; and
4. your name, address and telephone number, and a statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of the U.S. Federal District Court for the judicial district in which your address is located (or, if your address is outside the United States, any judicial district in which the service provider may be found), and that you will accept service of process from the person who provided the original notice or an agent of that person.

After we receive a valid counter-notice, we will forward a copy to the person who sent the original notice. Unless that person informs us that they have filed a court action seeking to restrain the alleged infringement, we may restore the material no less than 10 and no more than 14 business days after receiving the counter-notice, as provided in §512(g).

Repeat infringer policy

We may, in appropriate circumstances and at our discretion, disable commenting privileges, close customer accounts, or block access for users who are repeat infringers. We may also take these steps against users who repeatedly post material that infringes others’ intellectual property, even where no formal notice has been received.

Misrepresentation and good faith

Under 17 U.S.C. §512(f), any person who knowingly and materially misrepresents that material is infringing, or that material 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 the service provider.

Please do not send notices or counter-notices unless you have a good-faith basis. If you are unsure whether material infringes your rights, or whether your own use is permitted, consider consulting a lawyer first. This policy is provided for information and is not legal advice.

Image credits and third-party material

Many images on this site, including historical patent drawings, portraits and photographs, come from Wikimedia Commons. They are used under the license that applies to each file, such as public domain status or a Creative Commons license. Authors, sources and licenses are listed on our image credits page.

If you are the author of one of these images and believe the attribution is wrong, the license terms are not being followed, or the file was uploaded to Wikimedia Commons without your permission, please contact us using the details above. We will correct the attribution or remove the image as appropriate.

Short quotations from statutes, official publications and other works are used for commentary and education, as explained in our Disclaimer.

Notices from outside the United States

The DMCA is a U.S. law, but our readers and rights holders come from around the world. We will consider any clear, good-faith notice of infringement regardless of where you are, including notices under:

• Canada’s Copyright Act, which includes a “notice and notice” regime for intermediaries;
• the European Union’s Digital Services Act and national copyright laws in EU/EEA member states;
• the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988;
• Israel’s Copyright Law, 2007; and
• copyright laws of other countries.

For non-U.S. notices, please include the same practical information listed above: who you are, what work you own, where the material appears on our site, why you believe the use is not permitted, and a statement that your notice is accurate and that you are the rights holder or authorized to act for them. We will apply the law that properly governs the situation, and nothing in this policy limits any rights or remedies you have under your local law.

Patents, trademarks and other rights

This policy focuses on copyright. If you believe content on the site infringes a trademark or other right, or misuses confidential information, please email [email protected] with a clear description of the right, the content concerned and its URL. We will review the concern in good faith.

See also our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.