Trademark claims

As per our Acceptable Use Policy, Section 5 of our Terms of Service, Vimeo users may not submit content that infringes any third party’s copyright or other rights, including trademarks. 

In this article:

• Submitting trademark infringement claims
• How Vimeo reviews a trademark infringement claim
• Assessment of a trademark infringement claim
• Appealing a trademark infringement decision

Submitting trademark infringement claims

If you believe a Vimeo user has submitted content that infringes your trademark, we strongly encourage you to contact them directly to try to resolve the issue before submitting a claim (you can do this by joining Vimeo and sending the user a message through their Vimeo profile).

If you are unable to contact the user, or after doing so, cannot resolve the issue with them, you may submit a claim using Vimeo’s Trademark Complaint Form. Please include the following information:

• Your name, physical address, telephone number, and email address
• The name of the trademark owner and your relationship to the owner (e.g., attorney, agent, employee)
• A description of your trademark (the mark itself or, if a logo, a picture of the logo or link thereto), the principal country in which your trademark is registered, the trademark registration number(s), and a description of the goods and services relating to your trademark
• The URL of the infringing video or user account
• A brief description of why you believe that the usage constitutes infringement (or dilution) of your trademark
• A statement that you have a good faith belief that the usage is likely to cause confusion, is not authorized by the trademark owner or its agent, and is not otherwise permitted under law
• A statement under penalty of perjury that the information you are providing is correct and that you are, or are authorized to act on behalf of, the trademark owner
• Your electronic signature

How Vimeo reviews a trademark infringement claim

Trademarks can be infringed in various ways. However, not all uses of someone else’s trademark constitute infringement. There are cases where the use of a trademark is considered “fair use” (even if the owner did not consent to it). In reviewing a trademark claim, and in order to determine whether there has been an infringement, Vimeo will consider the following factors:

• Use of the trademark
• What is the trademark being used for?
• Does the user’s content show a trademark with the purpose of reviewing or criticizing a product or service?
• Does the use of the mark in the user’s content suggest or imply an affiliation or sponsorship? 
• Proximity of products or services
• Does the product or service in the user’s content have a similar use or function as the trademark owner’s?
• Likelihood of confusion
• Has the user used the content in question in an attempt to cause confusion or mistake or to deceive others? (This is known (the “likelihood of confusion” test, which is key to determining whether the use of a trademark constitutes infringement or not)
• Is there actual evidence of confusion (among those that have been exposed to the user’s content)? 
• Strength of the mark: There are 4 general categories of trademark, with the first being the least protected and the last having the most protection
• Generic. A generic term is a common description that does not receive trademark protection. Generic terms may be used freely. 
• Descriptive. A term that describes the nature of the goods or services will only be afforded trademark protection if the owner proves an additional meaning resulting from the public’s connection of the mark with the owner’s goods or services.
• Suggestive. A term that makes an implication about the good or service without describing anything in particular (e.g. Jaguar (vehicles).
• Arbitrary or Fanciful. 
• A fanciful trademark is one that the owner has made up or created for the sole purpose of marketing their product or service under a trademark (e.g., Nike). 
• An arbitrary trademark is one with a common meaning, but the meaning is unrelated to the goods or services offered for sale under the mark (e.g., Apple).