Intellectual Property & Infringement Reporting

1.1 Purpose. This policy provides a clear, evidence-based process for rights concerns involving Maison-controlled website content, product presentations and retail listings. It is intended to support prompt, proportionate action without deciding a complex legal dispute on incomplete information.

1.2 Scope. The policy applies to maisonthefive.com and material that Maison selects, publishes or controls for its connected EU retail storefront. It does not govern an independent website reached through an ordinary external link, although Maison may assist when an external destination is material to a Maison transaction or complaint.

1.3 Maison remains the contact. A reporter does not need to identify or contact Maison's manufacturer, fulfillment provider, technology provider, licensor or other operational supplier. Maison receives the report, communicates with the reporter and coordinates privately with relevant parties when necessary.

1.4 Legal approach. This policy is designed for a Germany-based retailer and an EU customer-facing website. Maison may also consider a substantiated report under another applicable law. The process is not a designation of a U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act agent and does not require a report or response to adopt U.S.-specific statutory language.

2.1 Protected material. The website and its original text, product presentation, photographs, graphics, illustrations, artwork, layouts, editorial structure, names, marks, visual identifiers, software elements and other protected material belong to Maison, its licensors or the relevant rights holder. Rights attach only to the extent recognized by applicable law.

2.2 Third-party rights. Product names, manufacturer information, trademarks, source material, licensed artwork and other third-party elements remain the property of their respective rights holders. Their appearance on the website does not imply that Maison owns them, that the rights holder endorses every Maison statement or that a third party may reuse them.

2.3 No transfer with a sale. Buying or receiving a product transfers the product and the use rights that necessarily accompany ordinary ownership of that physical item. It does not transfer copyright, trademark, design, trade-name, image or other intellectual property rights in the artwork, branding, product presentation or website content.

2.4 No ownership over unprotected subject matter. This policy does not claim exclusive rights in facts, ideas, methods, general themes, an unprotected style or other subject matter that the law leaves free for use. Similarity alone does not establish infringement, and a lawful license, consent, exhaustion rule or statutory exception may permit a use.

3.1 Personal use permission. Maison grants a limited, nonexclusive, revocable and nontransferable permission to access and use the website for lawful personal shopping, product research, customer support and the exercise or defense of a legal right. No other license is granted by implication.

3.2 Uses requiring permission. Unless applicable law permits the use without authorization, a person must not reproduce, republish, distribute, sell, license, commercially exploit, adapt or create derivative material from protected Maison content; remove or obscure rights notices; present Maison content as their own; use Maison names or marks in a way likely to mislead; or extract a substantial protected part of the catalogue for a competing or commercial service.

3.3 Mandatory exceptions preserved. Nothing in this policy restricts a quotation, parody, criticism, review, accessibility use, private copy, reporting of current events, text and data mining, use as evidence, consumer complaint or other use that applicable law permits and that cannot lawfully be excluded. The person relying on an exception remains responsible for satisfying its conditions.

3.4 Fair and accurate reference. A person may accurately identify Maison or a product where the law permits descriptive, referential, comparative or resale-related use. The reference must not falsely suggest authorization, sponsorship, affiliation or origin.

4.1 Protected automated uses. Except where applicable law permits the activity without authorization, Maison does not authorize automated extraction of protected catalogue content, photographs, artwork or product presentation for commercial datasets, model training, synthetic reproduction, automated content generation, market substitution or systematic republication.

4.2 Rights reservation. To the extent permitted by applicable law, Maison and the relevant rights holders reserve the use of protected online works for text and data mining under Section 44b(3) of the German Copyright Act and comparable rules. For online works, any reservation relied upon must also be implemented in a legally sufficient machine-readable form; this paragraph alone is not presented as a substitute for that technical implementation.

4.3 Research and mandatory uses. This reservation does not restrict a mandatory research exception, accessibility use, lawful search indexing, security testing or another nonwaivable use. Technical access to a file does not by itself establish permission, and a technical restriction does not remove a statutory right.

4.4 Written licenses. A written license or authorization may allow a use that this section would otherwise restrict. Its scope, territory, duration and conditions are governed by that authorization, not by this general policy.

5.1 Types of concern. Maison accepts substantiated concerns involving copyright and moral rights; trademarks, trade names and misleading indications of commercial origin; registered or unregistered design rights; protected product appearance or presentation; counterfeit or unauthorized merchandise; domain or online identifier rights; image, name, personality or publicity rights; and another legally protected right connected to Maison-controlled material.

5.2 Who may report. A rights holder, authorized representative, customer or other person with reliable information may submit a report. A person who is not the rights holder should explain the source of their information and must not claim authority they do not have.

5.3 Product concerns. A customer who believes a product is counterfeit, unauthorized or materially misdescribed may use this process or Maison's product-issue route. The report does not replace statutory conformity, withdrawal, refund or other consumer rights.

5.4 Orders and urgent matters. A court order, authority notice, customs communication or urgent safety-related rights concern should be identified clearly and supplied in complete form. Maison may prioritize a matter based on legal deadlines, risk of ongoing harm, evidence preservation needs and the reliability of the information received.

6.1 Contact route. Use the Maison Contact page and begin the message with 'Intellectual Property Complaint.' If the Contact page is unavailable, use the business contact details in the Legal Notice. Maison may provide a secure method for larger files or sensitive evidence after the initial report.

6.2 Information to include

Provide the following information so Maison can identify the right, locate the material and assess the concern without collecting unnecessary personal data:

1. Your name, a working email address and, if different, the name of the rights holder you represent.

2. A short explanation of your authority to act for the rights holder, with supporting evidence if Maison reasonably requests it.

3. A clear description of the protected work, mark, design, name, image or other right. Include a registration number and jurisdiction when relevant, but registration is not required for a right that can exist without registration.

4. The exact Maison URL, product name, image, text or other material concerned. Screenshots may help if the location or presentation could change.

5. A concise explanation of why the identified use is allegedly unauthorized or unlawful, together with any material evidence of ownership, priority, confusion, copying or lack of permission.

6. The outcome you request, such as correction, attribution, restriction, removal, delisting or contact about a license.

7. A confirmation that the report is submitted in good faith and that the information is accurate to the best of your knowledge, followed by your typed full name.

6.3 Data minimization. Do not send a passport, national identity card, full postal address, telephone number, payment credentials, account password or unrelated sensitive information unless Maison later explains why a particular item is legally necessary. Redact irrelevant personal and confidential information from supporting evidence where possible.

6.4 Multiple items. Related items may be included in one organized report. Maison may ask for a representative list, spreadsheet or separate report where numerous URLs, works or legal theories would otherwise prevent a reliable assessment.

6.5 Language and accessibility. Reports may be submitted in English or German. A person who encounters an accessibility barrier may request a reasonable alternative reporting format through the Contact page.

6.6 Operational channel only. This reporting route is not represented as automatically satisfying or replacing a formal legal warning under Section 97a of the German Copyright Act, service of legal documents, court proceedings, a binding authority procedure, a statutory remedy or a legal deadline. A party choosing a formal route remains responsible for its applicable requirements.

7.1 Initial review. Maison checks whether the report identifies the right and material with enough detail to proceed. Maison may acknowledge receipt, combine duplicate reports, request clarification or close a report that remains materially incomplete after a reasonable opportunity to supplement it.

7.2 Substantive assessment. Maison may examine ownership, authority, registration, priority, similarity, likelihood of confusion, license scope, consent, exhaustion, attribution, applicable exceptions, territorial limits and other relevant context. Maison may consult the affected contributor, rights holder, licensor, provider, professional adviser or authority where necessary.

7.3 Interim measures. Where the evidence and risk justify it, Maison may preserve records, temporarily hide or restrict material, pause promotion or sales, stop a pending publication, apply a territorial restriction or take another reversible measure while the assessment continues. An interim measure is not an admission of infringement.

7.4 Final measures. Depending on the evidence and applicable law, Maison may correct or add attribution, edit a description, replace an image, restrict or remove material, delist or stop selling an item, reject the report, restore material, maintain an interim measure, seek an agreed resolution or comply with a binding order. Maison selects a proportionate action and preserves mandatory customer rights for any affected order.

7.5 Communication and timing. Maison communicates a practical outcome to the reporter where appropriate and legally permitted. Review time depends on completeness, complexity, urgency, evidence, the need to consult another party and any legal deadline. This policy does not promise a fixed resolution time or automatic result.

7.6 No adjudication. Maison may make an operational decision about its website or products without determining every legal issue between private parties. A party remains free to seek independent advice, a court order, authority action or another remedy available under law.

8.1 Opportunity to respond. Where appropriate and legally permitted, Maison may notify the person or organization responsible for affected material and allow a response before or after action. A response may be submitted through the Maison Contact page and should begin with 'Intellectual Property Response.' Maison may withhold information where disclosure would create an undue privacy, confidentiality, safety, evidence or legal risk.

8.2 Information in a response. A response should identify the material and action, explain the basis for authorization or lawful use, provide relevant license, consent, ownership or exception evidence, address the reporter's key claim and include a working contact email and good-faith accuracy confirmation.

8.3 Reconsideration. Maison may maintain, narrow, reverse or replace an action after reviewing the response, new evidence or a changed legal position. Restoration is not automatic, and a report does not automatically prevent restoration.

8.4 Jurisdiction-neutral process. A response under this policy is not a U.S. statutory counter-notice and does not require consent to a particular court, acceptance of service or a penalty-of-perjury statement. Maison may request additional information that applicable law or a binding order genuinely requires.

9.1 False or abusive reports. Do not submit a report to suppress lawful criticism, competition, resale, quotation, parody or another permitted use; impersonate a rights holder; harass another person; or make a claim known to be materially false. Maison may reject, restrict or document abusive submissions and may take legally available action where necessary.

9.2 Confidentiality. Maison treats reports and responses with appropriate care but cannot promise absolute confidentiality. Information may need to be shared to assess the claim, obtain a response, protect legal rights, comply with law or preserve evidence.

9.3 Necessary sharing. Maison may share the minimum relevant information with the affected party, a rights holder, licensor, operational provider, professional adviser, insurer, payment or marketplace partner, court, regulator, law-enforcement body or other authorized recipient. Maison does not publish supplier identities, internal contracts, technical mappings or escalation routes unless disclosure is legally required or necessary for the case.

9.4 Personal data and records. Maison processes personal data in a report or response as explained in the Privacy Policy and retains relevant records for investigation, evidence, compliance, dispute management and the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims. Unnecessary information may be deleted, redacted or returned without review.

10.1 Customer content features. If Maison enables public reviews, uploads, personalization or another customer-content feature, the customer retains ownership of submitted content and confirms, to the best of their knowledge, that they have the rights and permissions needed for the requested use. For public display, the customer grants Maison a nonexclusive permission to host, format, display and moderate the content for the feature and related customer communications. Feature-specific rules may add proportionate moderation and repeat-misuse controls. No customer is required to waive an unwaivable moral, attribution, privacy or personality right.

10.2 Private service material. Material supplied privately for an order, complaint or support request is used only as reasonably necessary to provide the service, respond, comply with law and protect legal rights. Maison does not obtain a promotional license to private material merely because it was submitted for customer service.

10.3 Operational providers. A provider may apply its own rights-protection controls to technology, production or fulfillment used by Maison. Maison treats those controls as internal operational inputs. They do not replace this customer-facing policy, make the provider the customer's contact or authorize Maison to disclose confidential supplier information without a lawful reason.

10.4 Independent platforms. Material independently controlled by another website or platform may be outside Maison's power to remove. Maison will explain that boundary and, where reasonably possible, assist with identifying the correct destination or address the Maison-controlled use without presenting an external process as a replacement for Maison support.

10.5 Future service changes. If Maison introduces a service that creates a specific statutory hosting, intermediary or notice-and-action duty, Maison will update the relevant feature and policy before relying on this general reporting process for that duty.

11.1 Legal context. This policy is administered subject to applicable German, EU and other mandatory law. It does not create ownership where no protected right exists, remove a statutory exception, limit an authority's power or prevent a person from pursuing an available legal remedy.

11.2 Policy changes. Maison may revise this policy to reflect a change in law, rights-management practice, website functionality, complaint pattern or operational arrangement. A revision applies from its stated effective date and does not retrospectively remove an accrued or mandatory right. Material changes are identified through the dated version and publication record.

11.3 Related policies. The Terms and Conditions govern website use and the customer contract. The Privacy Policy explains personal-data handling. The Legal Notice provides the legally required operator and business contact details. Those documents supplement this policy for their subjects and do not reduce a mandatory right or remedy.

Official legal references: Section 15 UrhG, Section 97a UrhG, Section 44b UrhG, Section 14 MarkenG, Section 38 DesignG, Regulation (EU) 2026/715 on European Union designs and Directive 2004/48/EC on intellectual property enforcement.

Related Maison resources: Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policy, Legal Notice, and the Policies Hub.

POLICY MAINTENANCE Maison The Five maintains this policy and reviews it when applicable law, the website's content features, complaint patterns, operational arrangements or provider requirements materially change. The dated version in the Maison The Five Policies Hub is Maison's current customer-facing policy. Provider policies and procedures may inform Maison's internal handling but do not replace this policy, govern the customer relationship or require a reporter to contact a supplier.