Copyright & Takedown

Last updated 20 September 2026. Available in English only.

We take copyright seriously and act on valid complaints quickly. This page explains how to report infringing content, and what happens next.

What is on this site, and where it came from

Most content here is factual data about World Heritage Sites obtained from public sources, credited on our Attribution & Licences page. The rest is either written by us or posted by users — comments and suggested links. We do not host uploaded images; thumbnails are linked from Wikimedia.

Reporting infringing content

If you own the copyright in something appearing on this site, or are authorised to act for the owner, send us a notice containing all of the following. A notice missing any of these is not valid and we may not be able to act on it.

Your physical or electronic signature.
Identification of the copyrighted work you claim has been infringed.
Identification of the material you say is infringing, with enough detail for us to find it — a direct URL is best.
Your name, address, telephone number, and email address.
A statement that you have a good-faith belief that the use is not authorised by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.
A statement that the information in your notice is accurate and, under penalty of perjury, that you are the owner or authorised to act for them.

Send your notice through the contact form, putting “Copyright notice” in the subject line so that it is not mistaken for general feedback.

What we do when we receive a notice

We review it and, if it looks valid, remove or disable access to the material promptly.
We tell the person who posted it what was removed and why, and pass on a copy of the notice. That copy will include your name and contact details — so send a notice only if you are willing for that to happen.
We may publish the notice, with personal contact details redacted, for transparency.
Accounts that repeatedly infringe are terminated.

Counter-notice

If your content was removed and you believe that was a mistake, or that you have the right to post it, you can send a counter-notice containing:

Your physical or electronic signature.
Identification of the material removed and where it used to appear.
A statement, under penalty of perjury, that you have a good-faith belief the material was removed as a result of mistake or misidentification.
Your name, address, and telephone number.
A statement consenting to the jurisdiction of the federal court for the district in which you live — or, if you are outside the United States, any district in which we may be found — and that you will accept service of process from the complainant.

We will forward your counter-notice to the original complainant. If they do not file a court action within 10 to 14 business days, we may restore the material.

A warning about bad-faith notices

Under 17 U.S.C. § 512(f), anyone who knowingly makes a material misrepresentation in a takedown notice or a counter-notice may be liable for damages, including costs and legal fees. Fair use, fair dealing, and factual information that is not protectable by copyright are all real limits on what can be claimed. Please consider whether they apply before filing.

Trademark and other complaints

For trademark concerns, privacy complaints, or anything else that is not copyright, use the contact form and describe the problem. If you represent UNESCO and have a concern about how the UNESCO name or the World Heritage emblem appears on this site, please get in touch — we will respond promptly.

This procedure draws on GitHub’s site policies, released under CC0 1.0.