The Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (referred to in this document as “SPJA,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) is proud to have such an enthusiastic and supportive community. We created this Fan Site Policy to explain what you can and can’t do with our trademarks, including “Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation,” “SPJA,” “Anime Expo,” “AX,” “Project Anime,” and “PA” (which we’ll call the “Trademarks” in this document). This is important so that consumers and others aren't confused about what is and is not an official SPJA web site, Facebook page, or other social media account.
You may use our Trademarks for personal, non-commercial websites and social media accounts (“Fan Sites”) provided that you follow the following guidelines. Please note that these updates may be updated from time to time.
Please also bear in mind that SPJA cannot give you the right to use any third-party content, including material that is screened or distributed at a convention or the publicity rights of any exhibitor, guest, or panel member at one of our conventions. You will have to reach out to the owners of that content directly.
Your Site Must Identify Our Trademarks:
The first instance of each Trademark must be followed by the ® symbol, such as Anime Expo ®. Each Fan Site must state that the applicable Trademark(s) are “registered trademarks of the Society for Promotion of Japanese Animation and are used with permission. This site and its content are not published, endorsed, or specifically approved by, or affiliated with, the Society for Promotion of Japanese Animation.”
Your Site Must Distinguish Itself From Ours:
- URLs must contain descriptive words that make clear from the URL alone that the site is a fan site (for example, "www.iloveanimeexpo.com") and not an official Anime Expo website. Please don’t use any domain name that closely mimics our Trademarks or SPJA’s proprietary domains. If you use a domain name that is confusingly similar, we’ll be forced to take action.
- The Fan Site may not have a commercial purpose, such as selling products or promoting other services. You may not alter any Trademark or logo, or animate it, or incorporate it into yours. All of these actions could confuse people about who is operating the site or account. Please ensure that your own logo (on your website or Facebook page) does not use the stylized font and color scheme of any SPJA Trademark or logo.
Your Fan Site May Not:
- Use the Trademarks to advertise any business, product,s or services;
- Use profanity, violence, or sexually explicit content;
- Reference drugs, alcohol, or illegal activity;
- Include any derogatory reference to race, gender, religion, mental handicap, sexual orientation, weight, or physical impairment;
- Reference political parties, politicians, or political affiliations; or
- Alter or animate any Trademark or logo, or incorporate it into your own logo. You also cannot use our Trademarks if your own logo uses the stylized font and color scheme of any Trademark or logo because any of these actions could confuse people about who is operating the site or account. Facebook pages, and Instagram, Twitter and other social media accounts using any Trademark in their handle or account name must include the word "fan" or otherwise distinguish the account from one owned by SPJA. The account description must make clear that the account is not affiliated with SPJA or any of its conventions, not endorsed or approved by SPJA, or that any content on your Fan Site is endorsed or approved by SPJA.
We love our fans and we are grateful that you enjoy our conventions enough to talk about them online. However, if you intend to charge a subscription or access fee to generate revenue from your Fan Site, or if you intend to generate advertising revenue from the Fan Site, we would require you to execute a license agreement with us.
SPJA grants you no other rights in its Trademarks than those described in these guidelines and these guidelines do not give you the right to use any of its other intellectual property, such as copyrighted web site content or program materials. We also reserve the right to take action at any time against any site whose contact is objectionable or inappropriate in our sole discretion.
Questions?
Contact:
legal@spja.org
marketing@spja.org
The Society for Promotion of Japanese Animation (the “SPJA”) has one of the most comprehensive policies to prevent defamation, copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret infringement, or violations of anyone’s privacy or publicity rights (“Infringing Content”). Infringing Content is an issue at most popular media conventions and we are taking steps to make sure that our exhibitors know that only legal, fully licensed products will be allowed at our events.
We offer a clear path for anyone to report infringements and have these issues resolved swiftly on-site at our shows.
ZERO TOLERANCE
The SPJA has zero tolerance for Infringing Content, including the sale of counterfeit or pirated materials, at any of our events. If you have any concerns about vendors or products on the show floor, please report them immediately to any floor manager.
Selling Infringing Content is a violation of civil and criminal law. It is also a rip-off for our attendees. The SPJA encourages anyone who sees Infringing Content to report it, whether you are the content owner or an exhibitor or attendee who notices that something is wrong. We offer a clear path for anyone to report infringements and have these issues resolved swiftly on-site.
Our Enforcement Procedure
- You notify exhibit hall staff and fill out an Infringement Claim Form (the “Claim”).
- You will be asked to come with us to the booth and point out all of the items you listed on the Claim.
- If you have rights to the Infringing Content, or if you are the authorized agent or representative for a company or person with those rights (a “Rights Holder”), you can give the vendor a takedown notice.
- The vendor will be required to show the SPJA proof of the right to sell every item listed on the Claim.
- If the SPJA, in our reasonable discretion, determines that there is Infringing Content in the booth, we may confiscate the Infringing Content or require the vendor to remove it from the booth and stop selling it.
- In the unlikely event that the vendor does not comply, the SPJA will kick the vendor out of the show.
We do our best to keep Infringing Content out of our shows and we cooperate with Rights Holders and law enforcement, but we can’t assume responsibility for policing or enforcing everyone’s intellectual property at the show; and we can’t be liable for any Infringing Content or the failure to discover or remove the Infringing Content.
