DMCA
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Clover Stitch respects the work of artists, writers, photographers and designers, and we expect the same respect for ours. This page explains how to tell us if you believe something on cloverstitch.shop copies your copyrighted work, how a person whose material was removed can respond, and what we do with each notice. It follows the notice-and-takedown process of the United States Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), and we apply the same approach to reports from Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
DMCA at a glance
- Where to send notices: [email protected] with the subject “DMCA notice”, or by post to Clover Stitch, 2314 Chand Road, Joppa, MD 21085, US.
- What to include: the six elements listed in section 2.
- Our first reply: within 24 hours on business days, confirming we received the notice.
- Counter-notices: possible if you believe material was removed by mistake (section 4).
- Trademarks and other rights: see our Intellectual Property Policy.
1. What this page covers
Copyright protects original creative work: artwork, illustrations, photographs, text, embroidery designs and similar material. On our site that could include product images, product descriptions, page text, the designs embroidered on our garments, and the images used on category tiles and banners.
Clover Stitch creates its own designs — the four-heart clover, our lettering layouts, the wildflower wreath, the lavender sprig, the bear outline and so on — and writes its own descriptions. Customers can also add personalisation text such as titles, years and first names. We do not allow personalisation that copies protected material, and we do not suggest brand, team or character names. If, despite this, you believe something on our site infringes your copyright, please tell us using the process below.
Names, logos and slogans used to identify a business are usually protected by trademark rather than copyright. Concerns about trademarks, design rights or other rights are handled under our Intellectual Property Policy.
2. How to send a copyright notice
Your notice must be in writing and include all of the following, so that we can identify the material and act quickly:
- Your signature — a physical or electronic signature of the copyright owner or of a person authorised to act on the owner’s behalf. Typing your full legal name at the end of an email is accepted as an electronic signature.
- The work you own — a description of the copyrighted work you believe has been infringed, for example a link to your original artwork or a photo of the design with the date you created it.
- Where it appears on our site — the exact URL of each page, product or image on cloverstitch.shop, so we can find it without guessing.
- Your contact details — name, postal address, telephone number and email address.
- A good-faith statement — a statement that you believe in good faith that the use of the material is not authorised by the copyright owner, its agent or the law.
- An accuracy statement — a statement that the information in your notice is accurate and, under penalty of perjury, that you are the copyright owner or authorised to act on the owner’s behalf.
Send it to [email protected] with “DMCA notice” in the subject line, or by post to Clover Stitch, 2314 Chand Road, Joppa, MD 21085, US. Email is faster.
2.1 A short example notice
“I am the illustrator of the attached wildflower wreath artwork, first published on my portfolio website in 2022 (link included). The product page at the cloverstitch.shop address I have listed shows an embroidery design that copies my artwork. I have not authorised this use. I believe in good faith that this use is not authorised by me, my agent or the law. The information in this notice is accurate, and under penalty of perjury I am the copyright owner. Followed by your full name, postal address, phone number, email address and signature.”
3. What happens after you send a notice
| Step | What we do | Timing |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Acknowledge | Confirm we received the notice and tell you if anything is missing | Within 24 hours on business days |
| 2. Review | Locate the material and check the notice is complete | Promptly after acknowledgement |
| 3. Act | Remove or disable access to the material, or stop selling the product | Promptly once the notice is complete |
| 4. Inform | Tell the person who supplied the material (if it was not us) and send them a copy of the notice | When we act |
| 5. Close or counter-notice | Close the matter, or handle a counter-notice under section 4 | As described below |
If your notice is missing required information, we will tell you what is needed. We may not be able to act on an incomplete notice, but we will always reply.
3.1 While a notice is being reviewed
If a notice concerns a product that customers can order, we may pause sales of that product while we review it. Orders already placed are handled fairly: if we stop making a design, affected customers are told and offered a full refund or a different design. We do not ask the person who sent the notice to deal with our customers.
4. Counter-notices
If material you supplied was removed because of a notice and you believe it was removed by mistake or misidentification — for example because you own the design, or you have a licence to use it — you can send us a counter-notice. It must include:
- your physical or electronic signature;
- a description of the material that was removed and where it appeared before removal;
- a statement, under penalty of perjury, that you believe in good faith that the material was removed as a result of mistake or misidentification;
- your name, address and telephone number, and a statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of the federal district court for the district where your address is located (or, if your address is outside the United States, any judicial district in which Clover Stitch may be found), and that you will accept service of process from the person who sent the original notice or their agent.
When we receive a complete counter-notice, we send a copy to the person who sent the original notice. Under the DMCA process, we may restore the material in not less than 10 and not more than 14 business days after receiving the counter-notice, unless the original sender tells us they have filed a court action to stop the infringement.
5. Personalisation submitted by customers
Most of what customers type into our personalisation fields is a family title, a year and first names. Those are not usually anyone’s copyrighted work. If a customer’s order contains text or a phrase that you believe copies your protected work, please tell us. We review the order, and if the request breaches our Terms of Service, we cancel it and refund the customer. We do not publish customers’ personalisation text on our website.
6. Repeat infringement
Where someone repeatedly supplies infringing material to us — for example by placing several orders with protected text after being told it cannot be accepted — we may refuse further orders from them and close their account.
7. False or abusive notices
Please only send a notice if you own the rights or act for the owner. Under US law, a person who knowingly makes a material misrepresentation in a notice or counter-notice may be liable for damages, including costs and legal fees. If you are not sure whether something infringes your rights, you may want to get legal advice first. You are also welcome to simply email us with a question; we would rather discuss a concern early.
8. Before you send a notice: a short checklist
- Is it really the same work? Simple shapes such as a heart, a four-leaf clover or a common word like “Mama” in an ordinary typeface are used by many people and are generally not owned by anyone. Copyright protects a particular creative expression, not the idea of a heart or a family title.
- Do you have the exact link? A page address on cloverstitch.shop for every item you mention lets us act on the right material straight away.
- Can you show your original? A link, a dated file or a photo of your original work makes the review faster.
- Are you the owner or authorised? If you act for someone else, say so and describe your authority.
- Have you included both statements? The good-faith statement and the accuracy statement are required.
9. Exceptions we take into account
Copyright law allows some uses of protected work without permission, such as fair use in the United States and fair dealing in Canada, Australia and New Zealand. When we review a notice we consider whether such an exception plainly applies, but we do not make final legal judgments for other people. Where a notice is complete and the match is clear, we act on it and leave any legal disagreement to the counter-notice process or to the parties involved.
10. Records we keep
We keep copies of notices, counter-notices and our replies for as long as needed to handle the matter and any follow-up. Notices may be shared with the person whose material was removed, as described above, and with authorities if the law requires. Personal information in notices is handled under our Privacy Policy.
11. Our own work
The Clover Stitch name, logo, four-heart clover mark, designs, photographs and text on this site belong to Clover Stitch or are used with permission. Please do not copy them for another shop or listing. If you would like to use something — for a blog post about a family gift, for example — email us and ask.
12. Notices from outside the United States
We sell to customers in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. If you are in Canada, Australia or New Zealand and believe your copyright is infringed on our site, you can use the same notice described in section 2. Please mention which country’s law you rely on. We review every notice in good faith regardless of where it comes from.
13. Contact
Copyright contact: Clover Stitch, 2314 Chand Road, Joppa, MD 21085, US — [email protected]. For general questions use Contact Us; for trademark matters see the Intellectual Property Policy; for site rules, the Terms of Service.