Envato Content Policy

1. Introduction

Envato operates an online marketplace, through various content-specific sites, at which Members are entitled to sell and buy the right to use works owned or licensed by selling Members (Sellers).

Content offered for sale at each Envato marketplace are works which are protected by intellectual property rights, including copyright.

In this policy reference to “work” means any work of authorship – be it a drawing, sound clip, moving image or photograph.

Copyright is a complex area of the law.  There are many misconceptions surrounding the use of works which are protected by copyright.

Copyright laws were first introduced with the advent of book publishing and since then have been updated to address the advent of new technologies permitting works to be created in different ways.

In order to improve knowledge among Envato members and reduce the number of copyright misconceptions, Envato maintains a store of information and reference materials on the topic of copyright for those who want to know more about the subject.  This is to be found at Envato – Copyright 101.

Dealing with intellectual property rights in works is also made difficult because works may involve representations or records of images in which other rights exist, such as a trade mark or a design or a performance.  There are also, in certain places, special laws which protect public buildings and laws which give people rights to their own image.

Evaluating intellectual property rights in works is complicated by these additional special laws, as well as differing applications of copyright laws in different countries.

Intellectual property laws and practice will continue to evolve and Envato will update its policy from time to time as needed.

2. Respecting intellectual property

Envato recognizes the importance of and respects intellectual property rights.

Envato encourages its members to do the same. Indeed it is up to everyone in the Envato community to understand, and play by, intellectual property rules.

Envato recognizes that copyright is a valuable economic right. It allows the owner of a copyright work to make an income by allowing others the right to use the work.  This is the purpose of the marketplace – to provide a forum at which Sellers and Buyers can come together to conduct business.

Of course, in any online marketplace there is the possibility that works may be offered by a Seller who is not authorised to do so, including because the Seller does not own the work or does not have appropriate license rights.  In such cases, the Seller may be in violation of Envato’s Membership Terms, as well as having violated another’s intellectual property rights. Envato does not offer a copyright clearing service and relies on the promises made by Sellers about the works offered by them.

There is a process of works being evaluated by Envato before they are allowed to be offered at the marketplace but this evaluation focuses primarily on quality control and technical issues.

Envato does, however, reserve the right to decline to allow publication on an Envato marketplace of any content that it believes, in its sole discretion, violates the rights of any third party or otherwise violates Envato’s Membership Terms.

While Envato is based in Australia, Envato’s objective is to comply with copyright laws in other key jurisdictions, including the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

Envato will promptly act upon take-down notifications made in accordance with the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

3. What we expect of Sellers

Envato expects Sellers to respect the copyright and other proprietary rights of others.

Before a Seller offers his or her first work on an Envato marketplace, the Seller must successfully complete an online tutorial about intellectual property rights, including copyright.

It is the responsibility of each Seller to check, and ensure, that he or she owns or has the appropriate rights to any work uploaded onto an Envato marketplace.

A Seller must not upload any content unless he or she owns the content or has obtained appropriate licenses and consents from the applicable rights owner(s).  For more information on using another’s assets with a Seller’s item, see here.

Envato has developed house rules which should be followed by Members offering works on an Envato marketplace.

4. What we do before Sellers can sell

Envato may check the content each Seller submits for quality purposes, and while doing so Envato may identify, and notify the Seller of any, potential issues with the rights of others, or potential violations of our Membership Terms.

However, Envato is not obliged to review any content a Seller submits for compliance or to notify the Seller of potential issues.

Sellers must not assume that Envato will check and verify the existence or ownership of copyright. Acceptance of content by Envato does not mean that Envato has checked and cleared copyright or other intellectual property rights.

5. What we expect of Buyers

Envato expects buying Members (Buyers) to respect the copyright and other proprietary rights of others.

Buyers should only use any works acquired in accordance with the terms of the license for which payment has been made.  Buyers should also observe the house rules which Envato has developed for buyers.

It is up to the Buyer to ensure that he or she has obtained all necessary licenses, clearances and consents that may be required for the Buyer’s specific use of the work.

Envato relies on Buyers to behave responsibly by complying with the terms of the license which they are granted to use the work.  These are limited use rights and must be strictly observed.

6. What to do if you believe your work is infringed

Envato does not authorise or condone infringement intellectual property and proprietary rights, like copyright.

More specifically, Envato does not, and has no obligation to, police copyright infringement, but we will act promptly if we receive notice of an alleged infringement made in accordance with the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).  We also reserve the right, but are not obliged, to investigate and act on other notifications about alleged copyright infringement.

If you claim that a work offered on an Envato marketplace infringes your copyright you should send Envato a DMCA notice by following the steps outlined in What Do I Do If I Am A Victim Of Copyright Infringement? .

7. What we do if we receive a DMCA notice

Envato will respond promptly to alleged copyright infringement notices made in accordance with the DMCA.

Where the copyright infringement relates to a work uploaded to an Envato marketplace, Envato will take down the work on receipt of a valid DMCA notice of alleged infringement.

The alleged infringing Member will be notified and will have an opportunity to file a counter notice.  For more information, see A DMCA Takedown Notice Has Been Issued Against My Item. What Does This Mean.

8. Consequences of repeat DMCA notices or violations of Membership Terms

Serious consequences may flow from any infringement of another person’s copyright or other intellectual property.

Sellers may become liable to the rights owner for damages and other consequences.

Members whose items are the subject of repeat DMCA notices or whom Envato considers, in our discretion, to have committed one or more violations of our Membership Terms about intellectual property, do not meet Envato’s expectations.

Envato reserves the right to deal with such Members by disabling their accounts, with or without prior notice.

Envato also reserves the right to withhold payment of any money standing to the credit of the Member in the Member’s Envato account for up to 12 months.

Examples of violations

Here is a list of examples of the types of actions that will likely lead to account disablement, particularly if they result in more than one DMCA notice being made against an author.  This is not a definitive list.

-     Submitting a marketplace item that is not the Member’s own creation (this can include items that are being distributed for free elsewhere but under terms that prohibit resale or redistribution, or under terms that require redistribution under specific licence terms).

-     Uploading a marketplace item that is the output of a tutorial in breach of Envato’s house rules.

-     Uploading a marketplace item that contains a virus or other malware.

Reinstatement

If a Member has had his or her account with Envato disabled as a result of a violation, an application can be made by the Member to be reinstated.  This is done by contacting Support .  Reinstatement will not occur if multiple valid DMCA notices have been received and where counter-notifications are not submitted by the author.