Copyright & Intellectual Property Policy

Referenced in Terms of Service §9.6. Covers copyright claims about listing photos or other content on FitSwap. Claims that a listed item itself is counterfeit are handled under the Trust & Safety Policy, not this page — see §13.7.

13.1 Overview

FitSwap respects the intellectual property rights of others and expects users to do the same. As a Canadian company, FitSwap complies with the notice-and-notice regime under Canada's Copyright Act. FitSwap also voluntarily follows a notice-and- takedown process modeled on the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), since FitSwap's hosting and user base may extend beyond Canada — this section describes both.

13.2 Reporting Copyright Infringement

If you believe content on FitSwap — most commonly, a photo in a listing — infringes your copyright, send a notice that includes:

A physical or electronic signature of the copyright owner or their authorized agent
A description of the copyrighted work you claim has been infringed
The URL or other specific location of the material you claim is infringing
Your contact information — name, mailing address, phone number, and email
A statement that you have a good-faith belief the use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law
A statement, made under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on their behalf

Send notices to legal@fitswapapp.com. Separately from this notice address, FitSwap's designated agent registration with the U.S. Copyright Office's DMCA Designated Agent Directory (required for the DMCA safe harbor under 17 U.S.C. §512, for any U.S.-connected hosting or users) is still pending.

13.3 Canada's Notice-and-Notice Regime

Unlike the U.S. notice-and-takedown model, Canadian copyright law does not require FitSwap to remove content merely because a notice was received. For a valid notice that doesn't clearly also qualify for voluntary takedown under §13.4, FitSwap will forward the notice to the user who posted the content and retain records of having done so, as required by the Copyright Act — without independently deciding the infringement claim.

13.4 Voluntary Takedown

Independent of the notice-and-notice regime, FitSwap may remove or disable a listing in response to a notice meeting the elements in §13.2, at its discretion, pending the counter-notification process below. A listing removed this way is not automatically treated as proof of infringement — it's a precaution while the claim is sorted out.

13.5 Counter-Notification

If your listing was removed under §13.4 and you believe it was removed by mistake or misidentification, you may submit a counter-notice that includes:

Your physical or electronic signature
Identification of the material removed and where it appeared before removal
A statement, under penalty of perjury, that you have a good-faith belief the material was removed as a result of mistake or misidentification
Your name, address, phone number, and a statement consenting to the jurisdiction of the federal court for your district (or, for a Canadian user, the applicable Canadian court) and to accept service of process from the person who filed the original notice

If a valid counter-notice is received, FitSwap will forward it to the original complainant. Unless that person notifies FitSwap that they've filed a court action seeking to restrain the user from the infringing activity, the listing may be restored in 10–14 business days.

13.6 Repeat Infringers

An account that accumulates multiple substantiated copyright notices is subject to the Trust & Safety escalation ladder, up to and including permanent termination, consistent with maintaining a policy against repeat infringers.

13.7 Counterfeit or Prohibited Items

A claim that a listed item is itself counterfeit or trademark-infringing (as opposed to a claim about a photo or written content) is a Trust & Safety matter, not a copyright notice — see the Trust & Safety Policy §11.1 and contact support directly rather than using the process above.