Copyright & IPR Policy

1. Purpose

This policy defines the ownership, use, protection, licensing and permitted distribution of intellectual property associated with Ignited Minds Academy programmes.

It aims to protect the rights of mentors, participants, institutions, creators and the Academy.

2. Scope

This policy applies to:

• Course content
• Presentations
• Training manuals
• Videos
• Recordings
• Assessments
• Templates
• Research outputs
• Reports
• Case studies
• Graphics
• Photographs
• Website material
• Branding
• Software
• Programme structures
• Certificates
• Databases
• Promotional content
• Jointly developed resources

3. Definition of Intellectual Property

Intellectual property may include:

• Copyright
• Trademarks
• Patents
• Designs
• Databases
• Trade secrets
• Confidential information
• Know-how
• Original teaching material
• Software code
• Recorded content
• Creative and research works

4. Mentor-Owned Pre-Existing Material

Materials developed by a mentor before association with IMA generally remain the mentor's property.

Examples include:

• Existing presentations
• Books
• Frameworks
• Research papers
• Templates
• Recorded lectures
• Training models
• Proprietary methods

The mentor should identify significant pre-existing material before programme delivery.

5. Participant-Owned Work

Original work created independently by participants generally remains their property, including:

• Assignments
• Projects
• Research proposals
• Creative work
• Presentations
• Designs

By submitting work, the participant grants IMA a limited right to review, assess, verify and retain the work for programme administration.

IMA will seek separate consent before publicly displaying identifiable participant work, except where publication or presentation is a stated programme requirement.

6. Academy-Owned Material

The following are generally owned by IMA or Ignited Minds Edutech Pvt. Ltd.:

• Academy logo and branding
• Website design and content
• Promotional creatives
• Registration systems
• Certificate templates
• Programme administration formats
• Internal databases
• Academy-developed manuals
• Marketing campaigns
• Academy-produced graphics and videos
• Internal operational documents
• Programme landing pages

7. Jointly Developed Material

Where material is jointly created by IMA and a mentor, ownership and usage rights should be agreed in writing.

The agreement may cover:

• Ownership
• Licensing
• Editing rights
• Commercial use
• Recording rights
• Revenue sharing
• Reuse
• Translation
• Adaptation
• Duration of permission
• Territory
• Attribution

Where no separate agreement exists, neither party should commercially exploit jointly developed material beyond the original programme purpose without the other party's consent.

8. Licence Granted by Mentors

By submitting programme material, a mentor grants IMA a limited, non-exclusive and revocable licence to use approved material for:

• Programme planning
• Registration
• Participant communication
• Programme delivery
• Assessment
• Documentation
• Institutional proposals
• Quality review
• Agreed promotional purposes

Commercial reuse of full mentor-owned course content should be covered by separate written terms.

9. Programme Recordings

IMA may record programmes for:

• Participant access
• Documentation
• Internal quality review
• Institutional reporting
• Learning archives
• Promotional highlights

Full recordings should not be permanently commercialised beyond the agreed purpose without appropriate permission or contractual terms.

IMA may use reasonable short excerpts, screenshots or event photographs for promotional and reporting purposes, subject to applicable consent.

10. Participant Access and Permitted Use

Participants may use programme materials only for personal learning unless otherwise stated.

Participants must not:

• Sell programme material
• Upload it to public websites
• Share login access
• Reproduce full courses
• Distribute recordings
• Remove copyright notices
• Translate or adapt materials commercially
• Use content to create competing programmes
• Claim authorship of mentor or Academy material

11. Third-Party Content

Anyone submitting content to IMA must ensure that they:

• Own the material
• Hold a valid licence
• Have obtained necessary permission
• Use material under a lawful exception
• Provide proper attribution

Third-party content may include:

• Images
• Music
• Videos
• Articles
• Book chapters
• Case studies
• Data
• Software
• Research instruments
• Assessment tools

12. Use of Logos and Trademarks

The names, logos and brand elements of:

• Ignited Minds Academy
• Ignited Minds Edutech Pvt. Ltd.
• IMPARC
• MentorsGate
• Associated initiatives

must not be used without prior approval.

Approval for one programme does not create permanent permission.

13. Institutional Co-Branding

Co-branded materials must be approved by all relevant parties before publication.

No mentor, participant or institution may:

• Add an unauthorised logo
• Alter an approved logo
• Misrepresent a partnership
• Announce a collaboration before confirmation
• Issue certificates under another party's name without approval

14. Confidential and Proprietary Information

Confidential intellectual property includes:

• Unpublished course material
• Programme pricing
• Institutional proposals
• Software access
• Business plans
• Participant databases
• Internal methods
• Evaluation instruments
• Restricted recordings

Such information must not be disclosed or reused without permission.

15. Copyright Complaints

A copyright complaint should include:

• Identification of the copyrighted work
• Description of the allegedly infringing material
• Location of the material
• Ownership or authorisation details
• Contact information
• Supporting evidence
• Good-faith declaration

IMA may temporarily remove or restrict disputed content during review.

16. Action on Infringement

IMA may:

• Remove content
• Suspend programme access
• Request replacement material
• Cancel a programme
• Withhold payment
• Terminate an association
• Notify affected rights holders
• Seek legal remedies where appropriate

17. Moral Rights and Attribution

Where applicable, creators should receive appropriate attribution.

IMA will make reasonable efforts to preserve:

• Author identification
• Speaker credits
• Mentor credits
• Original work integrity
• Approved institutional affiliation

18. Duration of Rights

Rights and licences may continue for the duration stated in the relevant agreement.

Confidentiality, ownership, attribution and restrictions on unauthorised use may continue after the programme ends.