Intellectual Property Policy

This Intellectual Property Policy was last updated on June 22, 2022.

The American Academy of Mental Health is a technology platform that enables anyone anywhere to create and share educational content. We host hundreds and thousands of courses on our online learning marketplace. Our marketplace model means we don’t review or edit the content for legal issues, and we aren’t in a position to determine the legality of the content. However, the American Academy of Mental Health respects the intellectual property rights of others and expects instructors in the American Academy of Mental Health to do the same. When instructors post content on American Academy of Mental Health, they make the promise that they have the necessary authorization or rights to use that content.

Infringing activity is not tolerated on or through our platform.

This policy addresses what we do in the event of copyright takedown notices from content owners and trademark takedown notices from trademark owners with respect to the content on the American Academy of Mental Health platform. The policy also addresses what we do when American Academy of Mental Health instructors’ courses are copied on third-party platforms without their consent.

How to File a Copyright Takedown Notice
Counter-Notification

Trademark Takedown Notices

How to File a Trademark Takedown Notice

Infringement of your American Academy of Mental Health Content on Third-Party Platforms
Designated Agent Contact Information

Copyright Takedown Notices

The American Academy of Mental Health’s policy is to remove content from our service when it is reported as infringing in a copyright takedown notice received from the owner of the original content. It’s also our policy to remove all content from any instructor who’s determined to be a repeat infringer (for whom American Academy of Mental Health has received more than two valid copyright takedown notices). We reserve the right to terminate an instructor’s account at any time, including when they post content in violation of the copyrights of others.

How to File a Copyright Takedown Notice

If you’d like to report content on the American Academy of Mental Health platform and if you are the owner or the designated agent of the owner of the rights to the content that you believe the content is infringing, the most efficient way is to use this copyright complaint form (form in English only). You may also submit notices of alleged copyright infringement to our designated copyright agent, identified below.

Before you submit a copyright takedown notice, please remember these important things:

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 instructor who published the content you are reporting has received proper permission from the owner to use the content. We’ll ask you to provide an electronic signature to confirm that you’re the copyright owner or have authority to represent the copyright owner (including if the copyright owner is an organization). If you don’t own the content that you’re reporting, you’re welcome to reach out to the owner and provide them with the American Academy of Mental Health’s copyright complaint form.
Knowingly submitting a false or misleading copyright takedown notice is illegal and you could be held liable and have to pay damages as a result. The American Academy of Mental Health reserves the right to seek damages from anyone who submits a notification of claimed infringement in violation of the law.
Consider whether the use of your material in the content 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. Before you submit a copyright claim, make sure that use of the copied content does not qualify as fair use. Fair use covers things like criticism, commentary, news reporting, and research. In considering whether the content’s use of your material qualifies as fair use, you should look at:

The purpose of the use (whether the content is paid or unpaid, whether the 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 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 content instead of your material)

There are types of content that aren’t 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 copied content is indeed protected by copyright. If you need to report a trademark violation, please follow the steps outlined in the How to Submit a Trademark Takedown Notice section below.
Your copyright claim has to be sufficiently substantiated for us to 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’re filing a notice 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 content on the American Academy of Mental Health platform (the URL on our website and the exact name of the course and instructor); and
You add a statement saying: “I declare, under penalty of perjury, 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”.

Counter-Notification

If we receive a valid copyright takedown notice, we’ll send a copy of that notice to the instructor who posted the reported content along with a notification that: (1) the content was reported for copyright infringement and (2) we’re removing the content from the American Academy of Mental Health platform. We’ll also attach a form that the instructor can fill in and send back to us to submit a counter-notification. If your content has been reported for copyright infringement and removed from the American Academy of Mental Health platform, and if you believe we made a mistake or that you have permission from the owner of the reported content to use such content, then you may send us a counter-notification.

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. The American Academy of Mental Health 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.

The best way to provide us with a counter-notification is to fill in the form we provided you and send it back to the American Academy of Mental Health designated agent or the 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 content that was removed and the location (URL) at which it appeared before it was removed (you can access this information from the copyright takedown notice filed against your content; we always attach a copy when we notify you);
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
A statement that you consent to: (i) American Academy of Mental Health 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 federal district court for the judicial district in which you reside (if in the U.S.), or if you reside outside of the U.S., the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for Texas (headquarters of American Academy of Mental Health).

Trademark Takedown Notices

American Academy of Mental Health’s policy is to remove content from our platform when it’s reported and found to be infringing a third-party trademark. If you’re a trademark owner or a trademark owner’s authorized representative, you may submit trademark takedown notices to American Academy of Mental Health. American Academy of Mental Health reserves the right to terminate an instructor’s account at any time, including when they post content in violation of the trademark rights of another from its marketplace.

How to Submit a Trademark Takedown Notice

The fastest and easiest way to submit a trademark takedown notice to us is to use this trademark complaint form. Please note that a copy of your notice will be sent to the uploader of the content you are reporting.

Before you submit a trademark takedown notice, please remember these important things:

Your trademark claim has to be sufficiently substantiated for us to 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;
Precise location(s) in the reported course URL(s) where your registered trademark can be found;
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, under penalty of perjury, that I am the owner or authorized to act on behalf of the owner of a trademark that is allegedly infringed.”;
The following statement: “I agree that American Academy of Mental Health may forward my complaint, including my contact information, to the affected user.”; and
Your electronic signature (“/s/” followed by your full name, e.g., “/s/ Jane Doe”) or physical signature.

Submitting a false or misleading claim of infringement could result in liability for you. American Academy of Mental Health reserves the right to seek damages from any party that submits a false or misleading notification of claimed trademark infringement.
Consider whether the use of your trademark in the content is “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 content. Before you submit a trademark claim, make sure that use of your trademark in the content does not qualify as fair use.

Infringement of your American Academy of Mental Health Content on Third-Party Platforms

We understand that when you post and make available your content on the American Academy of Mental Health platform, you want to make sure that you won’t find that content offered on another platform without your permission. To help combat copyright infringement and piracy affecting courses of our instructors, we’ve partnered with an anti-piracy vendor to seek instances of infringement and to have them removed from most major search engines to stop traffic going forward.

In the event you find your course available on another platform without your permission, please fill out the third-party piracy reporting form so that we can pursue action.

Designated Agent Contact Information

American Academy of Mental Health’s Designated Agent for notices of reported infringement can be contacted in the following manner:

By filling out the copyright complaint form (for copyright takedown notices only)
By filling out the trademark complaint form (for trademark takedown notices only)
Via Email: support@aacademyofmh.com
Via U.S. Mail: American Academy of Mental Health, 1250 Capital of Texas Highway South, Building 3, Suite 400, Austin, Texas 78746.