Copyright & IP Policy

1. Ownership of Platform Content

1.1 Transparency Platform Rights

The Transparency platform, including its design, layout, graphics, code, and original content, is owned by Transparency and protected by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws.

1.2 Protected Elements

The following elements are protected intellectual property:

• Platform name and logo
• Website design and user interface
• Software code and algorithms
• Original written content and analysis
• Database compilation and organization
• AI-generated summaries and analysis

2. Government Content and Public Domain

2.1 Public Domain Sources

Much of the legislative content on our platform is derived from U.S. government sources, which are generally in the public domain. This includes:

• Congressional bill text
• Legislative actions and voting records
• Official government summaries
• Public hearing transcripts

2.2 Our Added Value

While the underlying government data is public domain, our presentation, analysis, organization, and user interface elements are protected by copyright.

3. User-Generated Content

3.1 User Content Ownership

Users retain ownership of the content they post, including comments, analyses, and opinions. However, by posting content on our platform, users grant us certain rights as outlined below.

3.2 License Grant from Users

By posting content on our platform, you grant Transparency a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, sublicensable license to:

• Display and distribute your content on our platform
• Store and backup your content
• Moderate and format your content for display
• Use your content for platform improvement and analytics
• Include your content in platform features and functionality

3.3 Content Guidelines

User-generated content must comply with our Community Guidelines and must not:

• Infringe on others' intellectual property rights
• Contain copyrighted material without permission
• Violate any applicable laws
• Include personal information of others

4. DMCA Takedown Policy

4.1 Copyright Infringement Reporting

If you believe that content on our platform infringes your copyright, you may submit a takedown notice under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

4.2 DMCA Notice Requirements

Your DMCA notice must include:

• Your physical or electronic signature
• Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to be infringed
• Identification of the infringing material and its location on our platform
• Your contact information (address, phone, email)
• A statement of good faith belief that the use is not authorized
• A statement that the information is accurate and you are authorized to act

4.3 Sending DMCA Notices

Send DMCA takedown notices to our designated agent:

4.4 Counter-Notification Process

If your content was removed due to a DMCA notice and you believe the removal was mistaken, you may submit a counter-notification containing:

• Your physical or electronic signature
• Identification of the removed material and its former location
• A statement under penalty of perjury that the removal was due to mistake or misidentification
• Your consent to federal court jurisdiction
• Your contact information

5. Trademark Policy

5.1 Our Trademarks

"Transparency" and our logo are trademarks of our company. Use of our trademarks without permission is prohibited.

5.2 Third-Party Trademarks

We respect the trademark rights of others. If you believe your trademark is being infringed on our platform, please contact us at [email protected].

6. Fair Use and Educational Use

6.1 Fair Use Doctrine

Our platform may include copyrighted material under the fair use doctrine for purposes of:

• News reporting and commentary
• Educational and informational purposes
• Criticism and analysis
• Transformative use in summaries and analysis

6.2 Educational Mission

Our platform's educational mission supports the fair use of certain copyrighted materials to enhance civic engagement and public understanding of legislation.

7. Third-Party Content and APIs

7.1 API Content

We aggregate content from various government APIs and databases. We respect the terms of use for these services and comply with their attribution requirements.

7.2 Attribution

When required, we provide appropriate attribution for third-party content, including:

• Source identification for government data
• API attribution where required
• Credit for user-contributed content

8. AI-Generated Content

8.1 AI Content Ownership

Content generated by our AI systems, including bill summaries and analysis, is considered our intellectual property, subject to the training data and model limitations.

8.2 Training Data Compliance

We ensure our AI systems are trained on appropriately licensed data and comply with copyright requirements in their training processes.

9. Open Source Components

9.1 Open Source Software

Our platform may incorporate open source software components. We comply with all applicable open source licenses and provide attribution as required.

9.2 License Compliance

A complete list of open source components and their licenses is available upon request at [email protected].

10. Enforcement and Violations

10.1 Reporting Violations

To report intellectual property violations on our platform, contact us with detailed information about the alleged infringement.

10.2 Repeat Infringer Policy

Users who repeatedly infringe intellectual property rights may have their accounts suspended or terminated under our repeat infringer policy.

11. International Considerations

11.1 Global Users

While primarily focused on U.S. legislation, we respect international intellectual property laws where applicable to our global user base.

11.2 Jurisdictional Compliance

We comply with intellectual property laws in jurisdictions where we operate and will respond to valid legal requests from appropriate authorities.

12. Contact Information

13. Policy Updates

We may update this Intellectual Property Policy to reflect changes in law, our practices, or platform features. Significant changes will be communicated to users through platform notifications.