Intellectual Property Policy

Houzz respects the intellectual property of others and expects users of the Houzz Platform to do the same.

As a Houzz user, you are responsible for the content you upload and provide to the Houzz Platform. Houzz’s Terms of Use and Acceptable Use Policy do not allow posting, sharing, or sending any content that violates or infringes someone else’s copyrights, trademarks, or other intellectual property rights. As set forth in the Terms of Use, users who have uploaded content to the Houzz Platform have represented and warranted that they have all of the rights necessary to do so, and grant Houzz a license to the content to permit Houzz to use it on the Houzz Platform.

If you believe your intellectual property has been infringed on the Houzz Platform, please review this Policy and complete the following electronic submission form for submission of takedown requests for fastest processing: Infringement Claim Form. If you are unsure whether the material you plan to report to us is infringing or otherwise violating another person’s rights, you should seek legal advice before reporting such content to us, as false or inaccurate reports could carry legal liability.

If you infringe the copyrights or other intellectual property rights of others, content may be removed or suspended in whole or part, consistent with this Policy and/or applicable law.

If you believe in good faith that materials hosted by Houzz infringe your copyright rights, you (or your agent) may utilize our Infringement Claim Form, requesting that the material be removed, or access to it blocked. You must include the following information: (a) a physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed; (b) identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed (or if multiple copyrighted works located on the Houzz Platform are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works); (c) identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or the subject of infringing activity, and information reasonably sufficient to allow Houzz to locate the material on the Houzz Platform; (d) information reasonably sufficient to permit Houzz to contact the complaining party, such as the name, address, telephone number, and email address (if available) of the complaining party; (e) a statement that the complaining party has a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and (f) a statement that the information in the notification is accurate and, under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed. Houzz is not required to and may not respond to complaints that do not meet these requirements. Houzz may also ask for additional information related to your intellectual property complaint and may also forward your complaint, including your email address and name to the entities whose content you asked to be removed. These requirements are guided by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (the "DMCA") and similar laws in other jurisdictions. All notices provided to Houzz must be in machine-readable format.

If you believe in good faith that a notice of copyright infringement has been wrongly filed against you, the DMCA permits you to send us a counter-notice. Counter-notices must include the following information: (a) your name, address, and telephone number; (b) identification of the material that has been removed or to which access has been disabled, and the location at which the material appeared before it was removed or access to it was disabled; (c) a statement under penalty of perjury that you have a good faith belief that the content was removed or disabled as a result of a mistake or misidentification of the material to be removed or disabled; (d) a statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of the federal district court for the judicial district in which your address is located, or if your address is outside of the United States, for any judicial district in which Houzz services may be found, and that you will accept service of process from the person who provided the original complaint; and (e) a physical or electronic signature (for example, typing your full name). Additional rights may apply to EU users via the Digital Services Act for appeals.

Notices and counter-notices with respect to claims of copyright infringement on the Houzz Platform must meet the then-current statutory requirements imposed by the DMCA (see http://www.loc.gov/copyright for details) and should be sent to the agent identified below. We suggest that you consult your legal advisor before filing a notice or counter-notice. Also, be aware that there can be penalties for false claims under the DMCA.

Agent to Receive Notices of Claimed Infringement: [email protected]

Upon receipt of a counter-notice, Houzz may send a copy of the counter-notice to the original complaining party, informing that party that Houzz may replace the removed content or cease disabling it. If Houzz receives a valid counter-notice, the removed content may be replaced or access to it restored by Houzz unless the copyright owner files an action seeking a court order against Houzz.

If you believe in good faith that materials on the Houzz Platform infringe other intellectual property rights, such as trademark, patent, or trade dress infringement rights, you (or your agent) may send us a notice requesting that the material be removed or access to it blocked. The notice must include the following information: (a) a physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed; (b) identification of the intellectual property right claimed to have been infringed (or if multiple intellectual property located on the Houzz Platform are covered by a single notification, a representative list of registrations, as an example); (c) identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or the subject of infringing activity, and information reasonably sufficient to allow Houzz to locate the material on the Houzz Platform; (d) information reasonably sufficient to permit Houzz to contact the complaining party, such as the name, address, telephone number, and email address (if available) of the complaining party; (e) a statement that the complaining party has a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the intellectual property rights owner, its agent, or the law; and (f) a statement that the information in the notification is accurate and, under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed. Houzz will not respond to complaints that do not meet these requirements. Houzz may also ask for additional information related to your intellectual property rights.

Note that Houzz does not mediate intellectual property disputes between third parties and rights owners. Should a third party contest an allegation you submitted against them, Houzz may forward the claim to the third party, with your email address and contact information, with the intent that the third party and you may resolve any dispute over ownership rights and/or infringement. Unlike a copyright infringement violation, Houzz will only reinstate or re-list content taken down under intellectual property violations upon receipt of a retraction (sent to [email protected]) from the rights owner.

Houzz takes appropriate action against parties it categorizes as repeat infringers. A repeat infringer includes, but is not limited to, anyone who qualifies as such under the DMCA, or who receives multiple claims of IP infringement and such claims are determined by Houzz to be valid. It is our policy, in appropriate circumstances and our discretion, to disable and/or terminate accounts of users who repeatedly infringe or are charged repeatedly with infringing the intellectual property rights of others.

Please be advised that this policy pertains to violations of intellectual property rights. If you have concerns about Houzz Shop product listings that you believe contain offensive, prohibited, misleading, or incorrect content, please notify us by using the report incorrect information or image link on the page for the specific product. If you see other suspicious activity on Houzz Shop or elsewhere on the Houzz Platform, including illegal content pursuant to the Digital Services Act, please notify us via the following form: https://help.houzz.com/s/contactsupport?language=en_US.

Dated: March 15, 2024