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Intellectual Property Dispute Policies

We respect the intellectual property rights of others. Our Terms of Service prohibit posting content that violates another party's intellectual property rights. As indicated in our Terms of Service, we may, in appropriate circumstances and in our discretion, remove or disable access to, material that we believe may infringe on the intellectual property rights of others, and restrict or terminate access to our Platform for those who may be repeat infringers.

The two most common types of intellectual property disputes that arise on our Platform are disputes regarding copyrights and trademarks. For more information regarding copyrights and trademarks, see the Legal FAQs, including What's the difference between copyright and trademark?.

Copyright Policy

We have adopted a copyright policy consistent with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act to block access to or remove content that we believe in good faith may be infringing based on a bona fide notification that complies with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

Note that under 17 U.S.C. § 512(f), you may be liable for any damages, including costs and attorneys' fees incurred by us or our members, if you knowingly materially misrepresent that content or activity is infringing. If you are unclear whether the content at issue is infringing, you should consider contacting an attorney.

To report copyright infringement, please follow the instructions in the following section, 'What should I do if I see material that I believe infringes on someone's intellectual property rights?'

Trademark Policy

We may, as a courtesy to trademark owners, conduct a limited inquiry of reasonable complaints of trademark infringement. Our determination of whether the reported content is a violation of our trademark policy depends on both the content that is being used and the context in which it is being used.

Using a business name, logo, or other protected content in a way that is confusing or misleading may be a violation of our trademark policy.

To report an instance of trademark infringement, please follow the instructions in the following section. 

What should I do if I see material that I believe infringes on someone's intellectual property rights?

If you believe that content on the Meetup website violates another party's intellectual property rights, you should contact the rights owner directly so that they may evaluate the use of their material and determine whether to report the situation to us.

If you believe that content on the Meetup website violates your intellectual property rights, you may send a notice containing the following information to our Copyright Agent listed below by email to legal@meetup.com or through our support form. Please submit this information in English in the format below. If the content at issue is claimed to have infringed copyrights, then this notice must comply with sections 512(c)(3) of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

  1. Your name, mailing address, telephone number and email address. 
    • Note that we may provide your contact information to the member that has posted the content you claim is infringing.
  2. A description of the content or other material that you claim has been infringed, and although not required, copies of, or reference to, the content that you claim has been infringed (with registration numbers, where applicable).
  3. A description of where the material that you claim is infringing is located on the Meetup website.
    • Please provide specific URLs where the content is located. Also, please provide a specific description of the material that you are claiming is infringing so that we are able to identify it on the specified webpage.
  4. An explanation of how the content on the Meetup website infringes on your intellectual property rights.
    • For copyright disputes, providing this information is optional. This information is not required under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. However, by providing this information in your initial report, you may help us better understand the situation without seeking additional information, which may result in a faster resolution of the situation.
    • For trademark disputes, providing this information is important to help us understand how the content on the Meetup website causes confusion or is misleading in terms of the product or services.
  5. A statement by you that you have a good faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the owner, its agent, or the law.
    • Be aware that under 17 U.S.C. § 512(f), you may be liable for any damages, including costs and attorneys' fees incurred by us or our members, if you knowingly materially misrepresent that material or activity is infringing. If you're unsure whether the material you are reporting is infringing, you should contact an attorney.
  6. A statement by you, that the above information in your notice is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that you are the copyright or intellectual property owner or authorized to act on the owner's behalf.
  7. An electronic or physical signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright or other intellectual property interest.

Our agent for notice of claims of copyright or other intellectual property infringement can be contacted as below:

  • By email: legal@meetup.com
  • By mail: 
    • Meetup LLC
      PO Box 4668, PMB 37895
      New York, NY 10163-4668
  • By fax: 212-255-7310

Please note that we may send a copy of any legal notice we receive to the member claimed to be infringing on content, the organizer of the group, or a third party, such as Lumen for publication.

What should I do if content that I posted was removed or I received a notice that my content infringes on someone's intellectual property rights?

If content that you posted was removed or you received a notice that your content infringes on someone's intellectual property rights, you may send us a counter-notice to dispute the matter. Please submit this information in English in the format below. If the content at issue is claimed to have infringed on copyrights, then this counter-notice must comply with sections 512(g)(3) of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

  1. Your name, mailing address, telephone number and email address.
    • Note that we may provide your contact information to the individual who claimed the content you posted is infringing.
  2. An identification or description of content or other material that has been removed and the location at which the material appeared before it was removed.
    • Please provide specific URLs where the content was located and a specific description of the content.
  3. A statement by you under penalty of perjury that you have a good faith belief the material was removed by mistake or misidentification.
  4. A statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of Federal District Court for the judicial district in which your address is located (or New York County, New York if your address is outside of the United States), and that you will accept service of process from the person who provided notification of infringement or an agent of such person.
  5. Your electronic or physical signature.

Please note that we may send a copy of any legal notice we receive to the person claiming that their intellectual property rights are being infringed, or a third party such as Lumen for publication.

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