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Copyright & IP Policy

Reporting infringement, appeals, and who owns teaching materials.

Version 1.0 · In effect from 15 October 2026 · Permanent link to this version

1.1 This Policy explains how we handle copyright and other intellectual property on Lemma: how to report infringement, how a User can respond, what happens to repeat infringers, who owns teaching materials, and what our own intellectual property rights are.

1.2 Our framework is EU law: the InfoSoc Directive 2001/29/EC and, for the notice-handling mechanics, Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 (the DSA), Arts. 16, 17 and 20, applied through our Notice & Action Policy. Lemma is not an online content-sharing service provider within Art. 17 of Directive (EU) 2019/790, because sharing large amounts of copyright-protected works is not its main purpose. This is not a repackaged US DMCA notice form.

1.3 Where we have a genuine US nexus — for example a rights holder or User based in the United States — we will also honour a notice that is validly framed under the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act, provided it also gives us enough information to act under clause 2. We do this as a matter of practical courtesy, not because US law governs this Platform; Cyprus and EU law govern it. We have not registered a DMCA designated agent and do not claim the US safe harbour.

2. How to report infringement

2.1 If you believe content on Lemma infringes your copyright or other intellectual property right, email abuse@getlemma.io with:

2.1.1 identification of the work you say is infringed (or, for multiple works, a representative list);

2.1.2 the exact location of the allegedly infringing material on Lemma (a URL, profile link, or Session/material identifier);

2.1.3 your contact details and, where you are not the rights holder yourself, evidence that you are authorised to act on the rights holder's behalf;

2.1.4 a statement that you have a good-faith belief that the use is not authorised by the rights holder, its agent, or the law; and

2.1.5 a statement, made under penalty of liability for a knowingly false claim, that the information in the notice is accurate.

2.2 A report that does not identify the work and its location precisely enough for us to find and assess it will not be actioned until you provide that detail.

2.3 This process runs alongside, and uses the same channel as, the Notice & Action Policy, which governs the general handling standard (timely, diligent, non-arbitrary, objective) and the statement of reasons given to the affected User.

3. What happens next

3.1 We acknowledge a valid report without undue delay and assess it on the same standard as any other notice under the Notice & Action Policy.

3.2 Where we conclude the material is infringing, we remove or disable access to it and notify the User who posted it, giving the statement of reasons required by DSA Art. 17 — what we did, on what ground, and how to challenge it.

3.3 We do not remove content on a bare, unsupported allegation. A report that does not meet clause 2.1 is treated as insufficiently substantiated.

4. Asking us to reconsider

4.1 A User whose content was removed following a copyright report may appeal under the Notice & Action Policy, clause 5, by writing to support@getlemma.io within 6 months, including:

4.1.1 identification of the content removed and its former location;

4.1.2 a statement of a good-faith belief that the removal was a mistake or misidentification, with the reason why (for example, that the User owns the rights, holds a licence, or the use is covered by a copyright exception such as quotation, criticism or teaching illustration under applicable EU/Cyprus law);

4.1.3 the User's contact details; and

4.1.4 a statement that the information given is accurate.

4.2 We assess the appeal on the same standard as the original notice and reinstate the content where the appeal is well-founded. Where reinstatement follows, we tell the original notifier the outcome where proportionate to do so.

4.3 If a genuine dispute remains between the notifier and the User after an appeal, we may ask both to resolve it directly or through the courts; we do not adjudicate ownership disputes we cannot verify, and we will explain that limitation where it applies.

5. Repeat infringer policy

5.1 We keep a record of copyright reports upheld against a User's account.

5.2 A User who is the subject of repeated, upheld infringement reports faces escalating consequences under clause 12 of the Terms of Service: a warning after the first upheld report; a restriction of the account after a further upheld report; and account suspension or termination for a persistent pattern.

5.3 A single disputed or reversed report does not count towards this pattern. We look at upheld reports, not raw volume of complaints, so the policy cannot be weaponised by repeated bad-faith reporting — see also the misuse provisions of the Notice & Action Policy.

6. Ownership of a Practitioner's teaching materials

6.1 A Practitioner who creates their own slides, exercises, notes, or other original teaching materials owns them. Lemma does not take ownership of anything a Practitioner writes or prepares to teach with.

6.2 By uploading or using teaching materials on the Platform, a Practitioner grants the Company the same limited, non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence described in clause 10.2 of the Terms of Service — to host, store, reproduce, display, transmit and technically adapt the materials solely to operate, secure and provide the Platform (for example, making them available during a Session, or storing them for the Learner to review afterwards). This licence does not let us sell, sublicense for unrelated purposes, or use the materials to promote the Platform without asking first.

6.3 The licence does not extend to another User. A Learner who receives access to a Practitioner's materials during a Session may use them for their own learning but does not acquire a right to redistribute, resell, or reuse them to teach others, unless the Practitioner says otherwise.

6.4 If a Practitioner deletes their materials or closes their account, the licence ends, except where we must keep a copy to meet a legal obligation, defend a claim, or preserve the integrity of an Evidence Event a Learner genuinely relies on (mirroring clause 10.2 of the Terms of Service).

7. Third-party materials used in a Session

7.1 A Practitioner who uses a third party's material in a Session — a textbook excerpt, a published exercise set, a diagram, a video clip — must have the right to use it that way: because it is their own, because it is licensed for that use, because it is in the public domain, or because a copyright exception genuinely applies.

7.2 Warranty. By using any third-party material in a Session or uploading it to the Platform, a User warrants that their use does not infringe anyone's rights. This warranty is already given generally under clause 10.3 of the Terms of Service; this clause makes clear it applies specifically to material sourced from someone else.

7.3 We are not able to verify the licensing status of material a Practitioner brings into a Session. The obligation to have the right to use it sits with the User, and clause 17 of the Terms of Service (indemnity) applies where a User in the course of trade, business or profession breaches this warranty.

8. The Company's own intellectual property

8.1 The Platform itself — our software, product design, the Lemma name and logo, our text and documentation, our assessment item banks (other than a Practitioner's own uploaded materials), and the SCI methodology — belongs to the Company or its licensors, as set out in clause 14 of the Terms of Service.

8.2 Nothing in this Policy transfers any of that to a User, an API Client, or a rights holder submitting a notice.

9. Trade mark use and brand permissions

9.1 "Lemma" and our logo are our trade marks (registered or unregistered, as applicable). You may not use them in a way that suggests endorsement, partnership, or official status you don't have.

9.2 You may refer to Lemma by name — for example, "I teach on Lemma," or "verified via Lemma's Verification API" — factually and without implying endorsement, without needing separate permission.

9.3 Using our logo, a modified version of our mark, or our branding in your own marketing, courses, or products requires our written permission. Write to legal@getlemma.io to ask.

10. Relationship to the Notice & Action Policy

10.1 Where this Policy and the Notice & Action Policy address the same procedural question — acknowledgement timing, the standard of assessment, the statement of reasons, appeal rights — the Notice & Action Policy governs. This Policy adds the copyright-specific detail: what a valid copyright notice contains, the appeal route, and the repeat-infringer consequence.