A DMCA Takedown Notice Has Been Issued Against My Item

When someone believes that an item on the Envato marketplaces or other user content on other Envato sites has violated their copyright, they must send support a copyright or DMCA notice (also called a “take down” notice). In this article, “item” refers to either marketplace items or other user content on other Envato sites.  A DMCA notice is a serious legal document which identifies the relevant issues and states, under penalty of perjury, that the person lodging the notice is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an allegedly infringed copyright.

When Envato support receives a valid DMCA notice, we will:

1. Remove the item in question from the marketplaces.
2. At our discretion, freeze earnings of the author from the sale of the item, as per our Membership Terms and Conditions.
3. Notify the author and send them a digital copy of the DMCA take down notice.
4. In some cases, disable the account from which the item in question was uploaded for sale.

You can find more information in our Content Policy. To learn about lodging a DMCA take down notice, see here.

Frequently Asked Questions

You should consider whether or not there has been a breach of copyright of the person who sent the take-down notice (the “claimant”).  One approach is to attempt to resolve the matter with that person directly.  You should also consider whether to obtain your own legal advice if the situation warrants, for example, if you are unsure of whether there has been a breach of copyright, or if you are unsure how to respond to a demand from the claimant.

You have an option to issue a counter notification or “put back” notice. 

If we receive a counter notification, we will send a copy to the claimant, then wait 10 business days.  Unless we receive a notice from the claimant that they have filed a court proceeding against you within that time, we will then reinstate the item within 14 business days from when we received the counter notification.

The counter notification should include the following things:

1. Identification of the item that has been taken down, and its location before it was taken down.
2. A statement under penalty of perjury that the you have a good faith belief that the item was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification of the item. (Ideally, include a detailed explanation of why the item should be reinstated.)
3. Your name, address, and telephone number.
4. If you are a US resident, a statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of Federal District Court for the judicial district in which you reside. If you reside outside of the United States, a statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of the courts in Victoria, Australia (where Envato is located), and the courts located in the United States federal district in which the claimant resides.  Include a statement that you will accept service of process from the claimant, or an agent of that person.
5. Your physical or electronic signature.

You should fully understand and carefully consider this option, because it is possible that a counter notification can trigger legal proceedings against you from the claimant about the alleged copyright infringement.  Obtain your own advice if unsure about this option. Don’t make false claims, as these could result in penalties for perjury, legal damages or other legal consequences.

There may be other situations in which your item can be reinstated, such as where the material item in dispute can be removed altogether from your item (eg it is one stand-alone component within your item).  Contact support to discuss if relevant.  In such a situation, we may at our discretion suggest to you to replace the disputed material before re-submitting the item.

Release of frozen earnings will occur at the discretion of Envato (eg if the person issuing the notice retracts the allegations), if Envato is compelled to do so by a binding order issued by a relevant judicial authority, or under a relevant agreement settling the dispute. 

Reinstatement of an account will occur at the discretion of Envato; please contact support to discuss.  Note that we will not reinstate accounts of authors who have received multiple DMCA notices in a valid format (where counter notifications have not been lodged).

Take-down notices will be issued in a variety of circumstances.  One approach you might consider is contacting the complainant to discuss and resolve the issue.

We are unable to give specific advice to authors and complainants.  But there are many factors that you and a claimant might consider, like the following things:

1. Whether your item was independently created, timing of creation of your and the claimant’s work, and other copyright law issues such as whether any defences apply.
2. Whether the claimant’s work has the same scope as your item.  Alternatively, whether it is just one component of your item (eg a graphic within a website template) and can be removed from your item.
3. Whether the claimant is seeking monetary payment from you, or simply to have your item taken down permanently.  If monetary payment is claimed, relevant factors include your earnings from the sale of your item, what licensing fee might be appropriate, and whether the claimant’s work was included in the downloaded file or used in some other way (eg on your own external site, in your own live preview, or in your marketing material).
4. Where you and the claimant live, and relevant legal forums for resolving disputes.