Trademark and copyright notice

The word "downtown"

"Downtown" is a generic, descriptive English word for the central district of a city: its commercial core, its oldest streets, the place where its transit lines meet. Down.Town uses the word in that ordinary sense, to describe city centres in general and the particular central districts covered by our guides. We make no claim to the word itself, and our use of it does not refer to any organisation, product or service that includes it in a name or trademark.

Who we are not

Down.Town is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by:

• any city, municipal, regional, provincial, state or national government, or any of their agencies, including transit agencies and tourism boards;
• any business improvement district, downtown alliance, partnership, association or management organisation;
• any real estate developer, landlord, shopping district, mall, venue or entertainment complex marketed under a "downtown" name;
• any company, publication, broadcaster, music label, product or brand whose name or trademark includes "downtown" or a similar term.

Where an organisation's name or a branded district appears in a guide, we use it only to identify that organisation or place, and we describe districts by their geography.

Names of places, events and businesses

Our guides necessarily name cities, neighbourhoods, landmarks, transit systems, institutions, events and, on occasion, businesses. We use those names descriptively, to identify the thing we are writing about (often called nominative use). Mentioning a name does not imply any relationship with, sponsorship by or endorsement of Down.Town, and it does not mean the owner of the name has reviewed what we wrote.

Third-party trademarks

All trademarks, service marks, trade names and logos that appear on Down.Town belong to their respective owners. That includes the names and marks of Google, YouTube, OpenStreetMap and any sponsor or partner shown in a labelled placement.

Copyright

• Our work. Original text, Down.Town Index scores, page design, SVG illustrations (including skyline and route-map graphics) and code are © Down.Town. All rights reserved unless we say otherwise.
• Videos. YouTube videos remain the property of their creators. They are embedded with YouTube's own player, credited with their title and channel, and are not hosted or copied by us.
• Map data. Map tiles and data are © OpenStreetMap contributors.
• Contest entries. Entrants keep the copyright in their photographs and grant Down.Town a non-exclusive licence to display them with credit, as set out in the official rules.
• Your submissions. You keep ownership of what you send us and license it to us as described in the terms of use.

Using our content

You're welcome to share links to any page and to quote short extracts with credit to Down.Town and a link back. Republishing guides, copying substantial parts of the site, reproducing our illustrations or using our scores commercially needs written permission: ask through the contact form.

Notice and takedown

If you believe material on Down.Town infringes your copyright or trademark, use the contact form and choose the topic Copyright notice (or "General question"). We handle notices under Canada's Copyright Act and, where it applies, the United States Digital Millennium Copyright Act. To let us act quickly, please include:

1. your name and contact details, and, if you act for someone else, whom you represent;
2. a description of the work or mark you say is infringed;
3. the exact address (URL) of each page on Down.Town where the material appears, and where on the page it is;
4. a statement that you believe in good faith that the use is not authorised by the owner, its agent or the law;
5. a statement that the information in your notice is accurate and that you are the owner, or authorised to act for the owner;
6. your full name typed as your electronic signature.

When we receive a complete notice, we review it promptly and, where appropriate, remove or disable the material and tell the person who supplied it. If your material was removed and you believe that was a mistake, you can send a counter-notice through the same form explaining why, and we will consider restoring it. We will end the participation of anyone who repeatedly infringes others' rights. Please don't send notices you know to be inaccurate: misrepresentations can carry legal liability.

The domain name and website

For enquiries about acquiring, sponsoring or partnering on the down.town domain name or this website, contact the owner.