Copyright & Intellectual Property Policy

01. Purpose of This Policy

This policy explains:

• Ownership of content on our website
• How our content may and may not be used
• Customer responsibilities for supplied artwork
• Rights relating to logos and trademarks
• Ownership of custom artwork and design work
• How intellectual-property complaints may be submitted
• How we may respond to alleged infringement

02. Applicable South African Law

Intellectual-property rights relating to our business and customer orders may be governed by applicable South African legislation, including where relevant:

• Copyright Act 98 of 1978
• Trade Marks Act 194 of 1993
• Designs Act 195 of 1993
• Counterfeit Goods Act 37 of 1997
• Merchandise Marks Act 17 of 1941
• Common-law rights relating to passing off and unlawful competition
• Other applicable intellectual-property legislation

The particular rights that apply depend on the type of intellectual property and the circumstances in which it is created or used.

03. Website Copyright

Unless otherwise stated or lawfully owned by a third party, content created for and appearing on the T-Shirts South Africa website may be protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights.

Protected material may include:

04. T-Shirts South Africa Branding

The name T-Shirts South Africa, our logos, branding, trade dress, graphics and other brand identifiers may be protected by copyright, trade mark law, passing-off principles or other intellectual-property rights.

No licence or permission to use our brand is granted merely because you visit this website or purchase products from us.

You may not use our name, logos or branding in a manner that falsely suggests:

• Partnership
• Sponsorship
• Endorsement
• Authorisation
• Affiliation
• Agency

unless such relationship has actually been authorised.

05. Permitted Website Use

You may access and view our website for lawful personal or business purposes.

You may print or save limited website material for legitimate personal reference or for purposes directly connected with doing business with T-Shirts South Africa, provided that such use does not infringe our rights or those of another person.

06. Prohibited Use

Unless authorised by us or permitted by applicable law, you may not:

• Copy substantial portions of our website
• Republish our product photographs
• Copy our website text for another commercial website
• Reproduce our graphics or marketing material
• Remove copyright notices
• Alter ownership or attribution information
• Sell or license our content
• Use our branding to impersonate T-Shirts South Africa
• Create a misleadingly similar website
• Use our content to falsely suggest affiliation with us
• Scrape or systematically reproduce our content unlawfully

07. Product Photographs

Product photographs and other images displayed on our website may be owned by T-Shirts South Africa, licensed to us, supplied by manufacturers or otherwise used with appropriate authority.

Images may not be copied, downloaded, reproduced, edited, redistributed or used commercially unless:

• We own the image and provide permission
• The relevant rights holder provides permission
• A licence expressly permits the use
• The use is otherwise permitted by law

08. Third-Party Brands

Our website may refer to products, companies, manufacturers, suppliers or brands owned by third parties.

Third-party names, logos and trademarks remain the property of their respective owners.

Displaying or referring to a third-party trade mark does not necessarily mean that T-Shirts South Africa owns that trade mark or is affiliated with the trade mark owner.

09. Customer-Supplied Artwork

Customers may provide artwork or other content for custom printing, embroidery, sublimation, branding or production.

This material may include:

• Logos
• Company names
• Trade marks
• Photographs
• Illustrations
• Characters
• Artwork
• Slogans
• Text
• Patterns
• Designs
• Brand assets

By submitting such material to us for reproduction, you confirm that you have the necessary authority to use the material for the requested purpose.

10. Customer Warranty of Rights

Depending on the circumstances, the necessary authority may come from:

• Copyright ownership
• Trade mark ownership
• A copyright licence
• A trade mark licence
• Written permission from the rights holder
• Authority from an employer or client
• Another lawful basis permitting reproduction

11. Authority to Reproduce Customer Material

When you supply material for an order, you authorise T-Shirts South Africa to reproduce, adapt to the extent technically necessary, print, embroider, transfer or otherwise use that material solely as reasonably necessary to:

• Prepare quotations
• Prepare artwork proofs
• Set up production files
• Manufacture the requested products
• Perform quality control
• Complete the customer's order
• Maintain appropriate transaction records

This operational permission does not by itself transfer ownership of your intellectual property to T-Shirts South Africa.

12. Unauthorised or Infringing Artwork

We reserve the right to refuse, suspend or stop work on material where we reasonably believe that reproduction may:

• Infringe copyright
• Infringe a registered or protected trade mark
• Involve counterfeit branding
• Misrepresent a business relationship
• Violate another person's intellectual-property rights
• Otherwise be unlawful

We may request evidence of permission or ownership before accepting or continuing an order.

13. Famous Brands & Logos

Customers should not submit third-party brand logos merely because an image can be found online.

For example, the fact that a logo, photograph, sports emblem, entertainment character or fashion brand is publicly visible does not mean that it is free to reproduce commercially.

14. Counterfeit Goods

T-Shirts South Africa does not knowingly offer its printing or branding services for the manufacture of counterfeit goods.

We may refuse an order where the requested branding appears to be intended to imitate or falsely represent genuine branded merchandise.

Where appropriate, we may request documentary evidence that a customer has authority to reproduce a protected brand.

15. Customer Indemnity

To the extent permitted by applicable law, a customer may be responsible for losses, claims, costs or liabilities arising directly from material supplied by that customer where:

• The customer did not have the necessary rights or authority
• The material infringes another person's intellectual-property rights
• The customer provided materially false information about ownership
• The customer instructed us to reproduce material unlawfully

Nothing in this clause removes liability that may not lawfully be excluded or transfers responsibility to a customer for infringement caused independently by T-Shirts South Africa.

16. Artwork Created by T-Shirts South Africa

Where T-Shirts South Africa creates original artwork, graphics, layouts, mock-ups, illustrations or design elements for a customer, ownership and usage rights will depend on the applicable quotation, agreement and circumstances under which the work was created.

Payment for printing or production services does not automatically mean that every underlying design file, production file or intellectual-property right has been assigned to the customer.

Where ownership or an exclusive licence is required, this should be agreed in writing.

17. Customer-Owned Artwork

Where a customer supplies pre-existing artwork that the customer owns, ownership of that artwork remains with the customer or other applicable rights holder.

T-Shirts South Africa obtains only the rights reasonably required to perform the requested services unless a separate agreement provides otherwise.

18. Production Files

Production files may include:

• Print-ready files
• Separations
• Embroidery digitisation files
• Machine files
• Templates
• Technical layouts
• Print setup files
• Production specifications

Ownership of a customer's original artwork does not necessarily mean that the customer automatically owns every production file created by T-Shirts South Africa or a third-party production provider.

If production files are required by the customer, this should be agreed separately.

19. Artwork Proofs & Mock-Ups

Artwork proofs, digital mock-ups and visualisations may be produced to demonstrate proposed positioning, scale or appearance.

Unless expressly authorised, a customer may not take a custom design created by T-Shirts South Africa and provide it to another supplier for commercial production if doing so would infringe rights held by T-Shirts South Africa or another designer.

20. Portfolio & Marketing Use

We will not assume that customer intellectual property may be used for unrelated commercial purposes merely because it was supplied for production.

Where we wish to use photographs of completed branded work, customer-owned logos or confidential custom designs in our portfolio, advertising or social media, we may seek permission where appropriate.

Where separate written terms governing portfolio use have been agreed, those terms will apply.

21. Confidential Artwork

Customers should notify us before submitting material that is confidential, unreleased or commercially sensitive.

Where appropriate, separate confidentiality arrangements may be agreed before sensitive material is supplied.

22. Fonts, Stock Images & Licensed Assets

Designs may contain third-party assets such as fonts, stock photographs, templates, illustrations or graphics.

Those assets may be subject to separate licence conditions.

A licence permitting us to use an asset in producing a finished garment does not necessarily permit transfer of the underlying asset or editable source file to a customer.

23. Artificial Intelligence & Digital Tools

Digital design tools, including artificial-intelligence-assisted tools, may from time to time be used in creative or production workflows.

The use of such tools does not override third-party intellectual property rights.

Customers remain responsible for ensuring that material they supply to us may lawfully be reproduced.

24. Reporting Copyright or IP Infringement

If you believe material displayed on our website or reproduced by T-Shirts South Africa infringes intellectual-property rights that you own or represent, please contact us.

Your notice should include sufficient information for us to assess the complaint.

25. Information to Include in an IP Complaint

Please provide:

26. Investigation of Complaints

When we receive a sufficiently detailed intellectual-property complaint, we may:

• Acknowledge or review the complaint
• Request additional information
• Temporarily restrict material while investigating
• Contact the customer or supplier responsible for the material
• Request proof of licence or authorisation
• Remove material where appropriate
• Decline a complaint where adequate grounds are not established
• Take other action reasonably required by law

We do not determine complex ownership disputes merely on the basis of an unsupported allegation.

27. Removal of Online Material

Where material on our website is reasonably shown to infringe another person's intellectual-property rights, we may remove, disable or replace the material.

Removal of material does not necessarily constitute an admission of liability.

28. False or Misleading Claims

Persons submitting an infringement complaint should act in good faith and provide accurate information.

Knowingly making a false claim of ownership or infringement may cause loss to another person and may have legal consequences.

29. No Transfer of Rights Through Website Use

Accessing this website does not transfer ownership of copyright, trade marks or other intellectual-property rights to the visitor.

Except for the limited permission necessary to browse and use the website lawfully, all applicable rights are reserved.

30. Linking to Our Website

You may link to publicly accessible pages on our website where the link is lawful and does not:

• Misrepresent your relationship with T-Shirts South Africa
• Suggest false endorsement
• Use our logo without permission
• Frame our content in a misleading manner
• Damage or exploit our intellectual-property rights unlawfully

31. Social Media

Content posted by T-Shirts South Africa to social-media platforms may remain subject to copyright and intellectual-property rights even though it is publicly viewable.

Sharing functionality provided by the relevant platform may be used in accordance with that platform's terms, but downloading and commercially republishing our original content may require separate permission.

32. Intellectual Property of Others

Nothing in this policy claims ownership of intellectual property belonging to customers, manufacturers, suppliers or other third parties.

Third-party rights remain with their respective owners.

33. Requests for Permission

If you wish to reproduce or use T-Shirts South Africa content for a purpose not already permitted by law, please request written permission before using it.

Your request should explain:

• The material you wish to use
• Where it will appear
• The intended purpose
• Whether the use is commercial
• The duration of the proposed use

34. Contact for Copyright & IP Matters

Copyright, trade mark and other intellectual-property enquiries may be directed to:

35. Related Website Policies

This policy should be read together with our:

• Privacy Policy
• Terms of Service
• POPIA Data Subject Request / Access Policy
• PAIA Manual / Access to Information

36. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Copyright & Intellectual Property Policy from time to time to reflect:

• Changes to our business
• Changes to our website
• Changes to our printing and design services
• Changes to applicable law
• Changes to intellectual-property procedures

The current version will be published on this website together with the applicable revision date.

37. Governing Law

This policy is governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa.

Nothing in this policy is intended to remove, restrict or alter rights or remedies that apply under South African intellectual property or other applicable law.