Food and Beverage Business Magazine (“B2B Magazines,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) respects the intellectual property rights of others and expects our users (“you” or “your”) to do the same. This Takedown Policy outlines our procedures for addressing claims of intellectual property infringement or other unlawful content on our Platform.
Please Note: While B2B Magazines is a UK-based company, our Platform is hosted on servers located in the United States. Therefore, our procedures acknowledge and may comply with obligations under both UK law and, where applicable, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of the United States (“DMCA”).
1. Reporting Infringement or Unlawful Content (Notice and Takedown)
If you believe that any material made accessible by B2B Magazines on its Platform infringes your copyright, trademark, or other intellectual property rights, or is otherwise unlawful or inappropriate, you may request its removal by providing us with a formal notice (“Takedown Notice”).
To enable us to process your request efficiently, your Takedown Notice must include the following information:
- Identification of Rights Holder: A physical or electronic signature of the person authorised to act on behalf of the owner of the intellectual property right or affected party.
- Description of Infringement: A detailed description of the copyrighted work, trademark, or other intellectual property right that you claim has been infringed, or a clear explanation of why the content is unlawful or inappropriate.
- Location of Content: A precise description of where the material you claim is infringing or unlawful is located on the B2B Magazines Platform, including the specific URL(s) of each item in dispute. This is crucial for us to quickly locate the content.
- Your Contact Information: Your full name, organisation (if applicable), address, telephone number, and email address.
- Statement of Good Faith: A statement by you that you have a good faith belief that the disputed use of the material is not authorised by the intellectual property owner, its agent, or the law.
- Statement of Accuracy: A statement by you, made under penalty of perjury (or the equivalent under applicable law), that the information in your notice is accurate and that you are the intellectual property owner or are authorised to act on the owner’s behalf.
Failure to include all the above information, especially specific URL(s), will delay the processing of your Takedown Notice, and we may be unable to take action until all necessary details are provided.
Proof of Rights Required
To minimise frivolous or duplicate claims, we require that all takedown requests include:
• Identification of the rights holder and their authorisation for you to act on their behalf.
• Evidence of ownership (e.g. portfolio link, stock agency reference).
• Confirmation of whether the image is available via licensed stock platforms (such as Envato, Freepik, Adobe Stock, Shutterstock).
We will not process incomplete requests. If the material is confirmed as licensed through our accounts, the case will be closed immediately.
2. Our Response to Takedown Notices
Upon receipt of a proper Takedown Notice that includes all the required information, B2B Magazines will respond expeditiously. This typically involves:
- Removing or disabling access to the material that is claimed to be infringing or unlawful.
- Notifying the user who posted the content about the Takedown Notice and the action taken.
B2B Magazines may, at its discretion, take further action, including denying access to its Platform by suspending or terminating user accounts for repeat infringers or those who violate our Terms of Use.
3. Counter-Notification (Disputing a Takedown)
If content you posted on the Platform was removed or access was disabled due to a Takedown Notice, and you believe the removal was a result of a mistake or misidentification, you may submit a counter-notification.
Please be aware that submitting a false or bad-faith counter-notification may lead to legal liability. If you are unsure whether your content infringes the rights of others, we recommend consulting a legal professional.
To file a counter-notification with us, you must provide a written communication that includes the following:
- Identification of Removed Material: Identify the specific URL(s) of the material that B2B Magazines has removed or to which access has been disabled.
- Your Contact Information: Your full name, organisation (if applicable), address, telephone number, and email address. If you are a registered B2B Magazines user, please also provide your username.
- Statement of Consent to Jurisdiction: A statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales, and that you will accept service of process from the person who provided the original Takedown Notice to B2B Magazines or an agent of such person.
- Statement of Good Faith Belief: Include the following statement: “I swear, under penalty of perjury, that I have a good faith belief that the material was removed or disabled as a result of a mistake or misidentification of the material to be removed or disabled.”
- Signature: Sign the notice. If you are providing notice by email, a scanned physical signature or a valid electronic signature will be accepted.
4. Processing Counter-Notifications
Upon receipt of a valid counter-notification, we will typically forward it to the party who submitted the original Takedown Notice. Please note that when we forward the counter-notification, it may include your identifying information provided therein. By submitting a counter-notification, you therefore consent to having such identifying information revealed in this way.
The claimant who submitted the original Takedown Notice must then notify us within ten (10) business days that they have filed a court action seeking to restrain you from engaging in the infringing activity relating to the material on the Platform. If we receive such notification, we will be unable to restore the content. If we do not receive such notification within the specified timeframe, we may, but are not obligated to, reinstate the disputed content.
5. Designated Agent for Notices
Notice of claims of copyright or other intellectual property infringement, or any other Takedown Notice, can be delivered to our Designated Agent as follows:
Email: admin@foodandbeverage.business
Key Changes with US Hosting in Mind:
- Preamble Clarification: Added a crucial sentence: “While B2B Magazines is a UK-based company, our Platform is hosted on servers located in the United States. Therefore, our procedures acknowledge and may comply with obligations under both UK law and, where applicable, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of the United States (“DMCA”).”
- This sets the expectation that both UK and US legal frameworks might come into play due to the hosting location.
- No Re-introduction of full DMCA terms: While acknowledging the DMCA, the policy doesn’t revert to explicitly detailing all DMCA safe harbor or specific counter-notification procedures (like 512(g)). This keeps the policy more globally understandable while still implicitly operating within the DMCA framework for your US host.
- Maintaining UK Jurisdiction: The counter-notification still specifies “courts of England and Wales” for your users, reinforcing that disputes with your UK company will be handled under UK law.
Additional Considerations for US Hosting:
- Privacy Policy Update: Your Privacy Policy (Section 10 in your Terms of Use) is where you must provide detailed information about data transfers to the US. It should clearly state:
- That personal data is transferred to and processed in the US.
- The legal basis for this transfer (e.g., reliance on the UK-US Data Bridge, or if not applicable, reliance on IDTAs/SCCs with your host).
- A brief explanation of the safeguards in place to protect the data during transfer and processing in the US.
- Information on how users can exercise their data protection rights, especially regarding international transfers.
- Data Processing Agreement (DPA): You should have a Data Processing Agreement (DPA) or equivalent contract in place with your US hosting provider. This DPA will outline their obligations regarding the personal data you process on their servers, ensuring they comply with UK GDPR requirements. This agreement should also incorporate the UK IDTAs or the UK Addendum to the EU SCCs, unless your host is certified under the UK-US Data Bridge.
- Regular Legal Review: Given the evolving landscape of international data transfer regulations (e.g., the ongoing discussions around the adequacy of US data protection laws post-Privacy Shield and Data Bridge), regular legal review of your data protection arrangements is even more critical.