Trademark Policy
Respect Trademark Rights
A trademark is a word, slogan, symbol or design that is used to distinguish a person or company’s products or services from other’s. Generally, trademark law seeks to protect consumers from being confused about who provides, endorses or is affiliated with a particular product or service. To prevent a likelihood of consumer confusion, a trademark owner may be able to stop others from using their trademark or confusingly similar ones.
To respect others’ trademark rights and to avoid confusing consumers, don’t use others’ trademarks in a way that suggests an affiliation, partnership, sponsorship or endorsement by or with the trademark owner, unless you have their permission. Likewise, don’t use others’ trademarks in a way that suggests your content was created by, or represents the views or opinions of, the trademark owner.
Using a trademark without the trademark owner’s permission on the Twitch Services in a manner that may mislead or confuse others about who you are, or your brand or business affiliation, may constitute trademark infringement and violate this Trademark Policy.
Reporting a Trademark Violation
Before filing a report, please note that not every use of your trademark in a username or other channel content is necessarily trademark infringement. The same word used in a different context or in a way that is unrelated to the product or service for which the trademark was granted may not violate your trademark.
If you believe that a username or other material infringes your trademark rights, you may want to contact the account holder and try to resolve your issue with them directly. Please understand that Twitch cannot adjudicate trademark disputes between users and trademark owners. We perform a limited investigation of reasonable complaints and only take action in clear cases of infringement, where the trademark owner demonstrates that the username or material is being used commercially, in a manner that is likely to confuse consumers into believing the account is somehow affiliated with the trademark owner’s brand.
If you’re sure that you want to report a trademark violation to Twitch, please send an email to trademarkclaims@twitch.tv that includes the following information, which we may share with the impacted account holder:
- Your contact information (name, company name, email, address, telephone number)
- Whether you are the trademark owner or an agent authorized to act on behalf of the trademark owner (we only investigate reports from owners or their authorized agents)
- The trademark you are claiming was infringed
- The trademark’s Registration No. or Application No. (if applicable)
- Where the trademark is registered (such as with the USPTO)
- The goods or services used in connection with the trademark
- Where you use your trademark
- The location of the infringing activity on Twitch (e.g., provide us with a channel name or link) and describe how it is a violation
Twitch’s Process for Responding to Trademark Reports
Upon receipt of a report, we do the following:
- Confirm the report is complete or request additional information if it is not.
- Determine if there is a violation of this Trademark Policy.
- If we take action based on a report, we may provide the impacted account holder with the report so they can respond to the claim.
- In certain cases, we may also give the impacted account holder an opportunity to comply with our policies or file an appeal.
- Any appeal must include an explanation of their side of the situation, along with any relevant materials for us to review. A successful appeal will likely result in restoration of the content or account.
- Remember, Twitch has discretion to make and implement reasonable determinations concerning trademark usage on the Twitch Services.
- However, Twitch cannot serve as the adjudicator of disputes among third parties. If Twitch declines to take action based on a report, the trademark owner must resolve the dispute directly with the impacted account holder.
- Please note that Twitch may, at its discretion, share a copy of trademark reports with the impacted account holder and other third parties, including for publication.
What is Not a Violation of This Policy?
- Merely referencing another’s trademark (e.g., “I love playing Fortnite!”)
- Merely registering a username that is also a trademark.
- Using a trademark in a way that is unrelated to the product or service for which the trademark was granted. For example, a trademark for plumbing services likely will not apply to gaming activities (you’re safe, Super Mario).
- Using another’s trademark to refer to their goods or services (e.g., “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is Nintendo’s most recent release”).
- Using another’s trademark in a way that clearly distinguishes the channel owner from the trademark owner.
- Creating parody, commentary, and fan accounts, provided the accounts meet the following requirements:
- The channel page/community page includes a description clearly indicating that the group or account holder is not affiliated with the trademark (e.g., by using words such as “parody,” “fan,” “commentary,” “subscribers of,” etc.); and
- The account or community name is not the exact trademark without some other distinguishing word such as “fan,” “subscriber,” “commentary,” or “players”.
Impersonation
You are free to parody, marvel, and rain praise on others, but you cannot pretend to actually be any other person or company. Thus, don’t do things that would cause confusion between you, or your community, and a person or company. See our Community Guidelines for more information.
To report a user for impersonation, log into your Twitch account, click the “⋮” icon on the user’s profile page and select the applicable “Report” option. Report Something Else → User → Search → Impersonation → include relevant details in the “Tell us more” field. Please visit the How to File a User Report support page for more information.