We are familiar with "trolls" on social media, but what about trolls who look for a payday from places like Rotary Club materials?!! It is happening. It's costly. These lawsuits prevent us from using our donations for the causes we love to serve. Our club is being diligent in managing our responsibility to maintain lawful branding and avoid copyright issues - but we need everyone's help. When you post or send pictures, images, or content to post make sure we have the author, photographer or organizations permission (names, dates, etc.) Please stop and t The U.S. Rotary Club & District Liability Insurance Program provides all U.S. Rotary and Rotaract clubs and districts with general liability and directors & officers / employment practices liability insurance. Clubs continue to post images and other media (cartoons, songs, etc) online in disregard of copyright laws, resulting in a considerable increase in claims activity under the U.S. Rotary Club & District Liability Insurance Program ("Program"). Over 40% of the Program's open claims now pertain to copyright infringement. Since claims activity determines state-by-state insurance assessment rates, your club could raise the rates for all of the clubs in your state. Copyright owners hire companies offering software that "trolls" the internet in search of copyright violations involving their images or other media. These companies are commonly referred to as copyright trolls. When a troll finds a violation, they contact the party who mis-used the image or other media and make a demand to settle the violation. Failure to respond to the demand increases the difficulty of resolving the claim. It is our club's responsibility to comply with copyright laws. Here is what our club can do to prevent receiving a notice of copyright infringement: IMMEDIATELY: Review your club's social media accounts and websites and delete any content using images or other media where you do not have the copyright owner's permission. This includes bulletins, newsletters, and other documents and forms, even if they are 10+ years old. Contact Risk Management immediately if your club receives a notice of copyright infringement. The Program may provide coverage depending on the way the image or other media was used. The risk management email is claims@rotary.org. Going Forward: Instead of lifting images or other media off the internet, use images or other media created by members of your club (first receive their permission) or use the Rotary Brand Center. Never use images or other media without permission. Purchase images or other media online. Consult the United States Copyright Office's website. https://copyright.gov/ For further information about this topic, please go to the Program website and review Copyright Infringement & Privacy Guidelines. The website, username, and password are below: Website: rotary.ajg.com Username: rotary@ajg.com Password: rotarian1 Please note, for the Website and Username, that is A-J-G. This website is only for U.S. Rotary and Rotaract club use. Please feel free to share the username and password with others in your U.S. Rotary or Rotaract club, but do not post them anywhere, as this is the exclusive source for all of the Program's documents, forms, and other materials. Regards, Risk Management Insurance Broker Risk Management Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Julita Brzozowska, Risk Manager Carol Dietz, Risk Management Senior Specialist Jacob Kolar, Risk Management Analyst Ann Berdahl, Claims & Insurance Manager 1-833-376-8279 1-847-424-5394 1-847-424-5245 1-847-866-3138 1-847-866-3125 rotary@ajg.com insurance@rotary.org | 
