1. ABOUT THIS POLICY

1.1. Chooice takes intellectual property rights seriously. We comply with applicable intellectual property laws and best industry practices to maintain the integrity of Chooice.

1.2. This IP policy (IP Policy) explains how we address allegations of infringement, how authorised parties can submit infringement notices regarding content on Chooice, and how sellers can respond when their stores or listings are affected by a notice.

1.3. Our sellers use of Chooice is also governed by our seller terms, available at Seller's Terms of use (Website) (Seller Terms). Unless the context requires otherwise, capitalised terms used in this policy have the meaning given to them in the Seller Terms.

2. CHOOICE’S ROLE

2.1. Chooice is a marketplace for users to transact, comprised of third-party sellers who run their own stores and create their own listings and policies and users who can discover and purchase Products and Services and support New Zealand businesses.

2.2. Sellers are not employees, agents or representatives of Chooice.  Sellers are responsible for providing their Products and Services and complying with the law. We do not do any of this on behalf of sellers.

2.3. Sellers are responsible for ensuring they have all necessary rights to their Content and to sell their Products and Services through Chooice and that they are not infringing or violating any third party’s Intellectual Property Rights by uploading their Content onto Chooice or selling their Products and Services through Chooice. We reserve the right to remove or disable any Store Listing, store, or account that we believe violates our Seller Terms and/or this IP Policy.

2.4. Chooice cannot speak on behalf of Intellectual Property owners, offer legal advice or make determinations on whether a  seller’s Content or Products or Services infringes a third party’s Intellectual Property Rights.

2.5. We will remove Content or Store Listings cited for alleged Intellectual Property infringement from Chooice as soon as reasonably practicable when provided with a proper notice.

2.6. We are not responsible for removing, and have no ability to remove, Public Content that sellers have on their websites and social media feeds.

3. NOTICES OF IP INFRINGEMENT

3.1. We aim to respond quickly when we receive proper notice of Intellectual Property infringement by removing or disabling access to the allegedly infringing Content or Store Listing. For a notice of Intellectual Property infringement to be valid, it must have:

a. the name, ID and contact details of the Intellectual Property rights holder, and, if a duly authorised representative is acting on behalf of the Intellectual Property Rights holder, that person’s name and contact details; and

b. registered proof of the rights holder’s Intellectual Property Rights (.e.g. IPONZ registrations, registered patents, etc.) or, in the case of copyright, documentation proving the right’s holder’s ownership in the copyrighted material.

3.2. When we remove or disable access to allegedly infringing Content or Store Listings in response to a notice, we will make a reasonable attempt to contact the affected seller, provide information about the notice and removal, and, in cases of alleged copyright infringement, provide information about how to submit a counter notice.  We may also provide a copy of the infringement notice, including the contact details of the reporting party, to the affected seller.

3.3. Before processing a notice, we may request additional information from you. We may, at our discretion, reject notices or counter notices that contain information we believe is false, fraudulent, incomplete, or otherwise submitted in bad faith. We also reserve the right to take action against abusers of this IP Policy.

4. COUNTER NOTICE

4.1. We accept counter notices for notices alleging copyright infringement only.  When we receive a counter notice, we will provide a copy of the counter notice to the original reporting party. The removed Content or Store Listing may be replaced or access to it may be restored within 10 business days after the counter notice is processed and has been sent to the copyright owner, unless the copyright owner files an action seeking a court order against the allegedly infringing seller and informs Chooice and supplies evidence of this action. If court proceedings are filed, clause 7 will apply.

5. REPEAT INFRINGEMENT

5.1. We may, at our discretion, terminate selling privileges and/or the accounts of sellers who are subject to repeat or multiple notices of Intellectual Property infringement.

5.2. If we believe a seller has attempted to open a new store after termination of their initial account, we reserve the right to refuse all services to that seller.  We may exercise this right against any accounts we believe are associated with or operated by that seller.

6. NOTICE WITHDRAWALS

6.1. We only accept withdrawals of infringement notices directly from the Intellectual Property rights holder or authorised representative who submitted the claim. The withdrawal must clearly state that it is a formal withdrawal and sufficiently identify the seller and/or Content or Store Listing (e.g. by providing the store name and relevant Chooice store page URL(s)).

6.2. Once we receive a formal withdrawal of a notice of infringement, we will make reasonable attempts to contact both parties involved to confirm receipt from the party submitting the withdrawal and to inform the member affected by the withdrawal. Please note that infringement matters are reviewed on a case-by-case basis, and that withdrawals do not guarantee changes to a member's account and/or store status.

7. PRIVACY RESPONSIBILITIES

7.1 Our responsibilities under the Privacy Act 2020 mean we can release seller information, including Personal Information, for the purpose of court or tribunal proceedings. We require evidence that proceedings are in play, or a court order before we pass on information about a seller, or provide their details to an Intellectual Property Rights holder or their authorised representative.