Yes. If your resource(s) is in violation of our Intellectual Property policies, (i.e. your resource is permanently removed through the DMCA Notice & Takedown process), we will take the following steps in compliance with the law and our policies:
- We immediately 1) remove your resource from the TPT Marketplace so that it can no longer be purchased and 2) reach out to you to provide you with information about the removal.
- Five business days later, if you have not filed a counter-notice, we will provide refunds to those Buyers who purchased your resource within a year of this removal. We do this because Buyers lose access to resources that are removed.
- Your earnings from those refunded purchases will be deducted from your current or future earnings.
Where do the refunds from removed resources come from? My PayPal account?
TPT does not process refunds from Sellers’ PayPal accounts or any other bank account. Funds instead may be drawn either from current or future TPT earnings as needed to cover the refunded amount.
What does it mean that TPT may refund from my future earnings?
If the refunded amount on your removed resource(s) total more than your earnings in the first pay period following the refund, TPT will continue to withhold earnings from your future months’ earnings until the total amount is covered. E.g. if on January 1, $100 dollars are due from you to previous Buyers under our Refund Policy, and your January payout is only $50, TPT will withhold the remaining refund balance, $50, from your February payout.
How will I know how much money will be refunded if my resource(s) has been removed due to an intellectual property violation?
We are in the process of improving our tools to implement potential refund amounts when notifying Teacher-Authors of an intellectual property violation. In the meantime, you can find the refund total by following these steps in your Teacher-Author account dashboard (you’ll need to be logged in to TPT to access your dashboard):
- Under, “During,” filter by “Custom Range,” select the previous year, and click “Apply”;
- Under, “For,” search each impacted resource by title, and click the checkbox next to each item;
- The number under the date range in the top right hand corner of your dashboard will represent your total impacted earnings.
What are my options if I don’t agree that my resource is infringing any intellectual property rights?
If you’ve received a DMCA Takedown Notice from TPT about one or more of your resources and your resource is not actually infringing on that Rightsholder’s intellectual property rights, you can dispute the claim by submitting a Counter-Notice.
A Counter-Notice is a legal claim you make under penalty of perjury that your resource is not infringing on the Rightsholder’s intellectual property. It’s important to be aware that by sending a Counter-Notice, the next step for a Rightsholder can be to file a lawsuit to resolve the dispute. You should be prepared for this possibility if you choose to file a Counter-Notice.
To send a Counter-Notice, please follow the detailed Counter-Notice Process outlined in TPT’s Copyright & Trademark Policies. TPT will only process Counter-Notices which are valid, complete and submitted within five business days. If you’re uncertain that a Counter-Notice is right for you, we recommend speaking with an attorney who specializes in copyright and trademark law to advise you on your rights. TPT is not able to provide legal guidance. Please be aware that if you misrepresent that your material is not infringing, you may be liable to the Rightsholder for damages, including costs and attorneys’ fees.
If I do submit a Counter-Notice, will my earnings still be impacted?
It depends.
Once we’ve received your Counter-Notice, we will forward it to the Rightsholder for review. They will then have ten days to review your Counter-Notice and may either:
- Take legal action against you (e.g., file a lawsuit against you) if they disagree with your Counter-Notice. In this case, TPT will remove your resources from Buyers and issue refunds. OR
- Not take any legal action against you. In this case, TPT will reinstate your resource on the marketplace, will not remove it from Buyers, and will not issue refunds.
For more information on copyright and trademark topics, check out our Copyright & Trademark section in TPT U, and our Copyright & Trademark FAQs. We also strongly recommend taking our Copyright & Trademark Quiz to learn more!