Copyright
If you believe that any material contained on the Maryland.gov
website (the "Site") infringes your copyright or other intellectual
property rights, you may notify NICUSA, LLC, Maryland Information
Division of your copyright infringement claim in accordance with the
following procedure. NICUSA, LLC, Maryland Information Division will
process notices of alleged infringement that it receives, and may take
action as authorized by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)
and/or other applicable intellectual property laws if it has the ability
to do so. The DMCA requires that notifications of claimed copyright
infringement should be sent to this Site's Designated Agent:
By mail:
NICUSA, LLC, Maryland Information Division DMCA Agent
c/o Stinson Leonard Street
Stinson IP Administrator, 1201 Walnut, Suite 2900, Kansas City, MO 64106
By phone: 816-842-8600
By fax: 816-691-3495
By email: DMCA@stinsonleonard.com
To be effective, the notification must be in writing and contain the following information (DMCA, 17 U.S.C. 512(c)(3)):
- Physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on
behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed;
- Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been
infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works at a single online site are
covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works
at that site;
- Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or
claimed to be the subject of infringing activity and that is sought to
be removed or access to which is sought to be disabled, and information
reasonably sufficient to permit the location of the material;
- Information reasonably sufficient to permit the service provider to
contact the complaining party, such as an address, telephone number,
and, if available, an electronic mail address at which the complaining
party may be contacted;
- A statement that the complaining party has a good faith belief that
use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the
copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and
- A statement, made under penalty of perjury, that the information in
the notification is accurate and that the complaining party is
authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is
allegedly infringed.
E-mails sent to DMCA@stinsonleonard.com for purposes other than communication about copyright claims may not be acknowledged or responded to.
General Policy
Maryland.gov is the official web portal for the Maryland State government and is maintained by the Maryland Department of Information Technology (DoIT). Individual state agency websites are separately maintained by the respective agency.
Links to Government Websites
Maryland.gov links to publicly available websites that are government-owned or government-sponsored websites in domains such as .gov, .us, .mil, and .fed. Maryland.gov may link to: quasi-government agencies and websites created by public sector/private sector partnerships and some government-sponsored websites that end in .com, .org, or .net.
Links to Non-Government Websites
DoIT may, at its discretion, provide links to websites of nonprofit organizations and private or commercial entities if they offer information or services related to topics covered on the Maryland.gov website and are consistent with the purpose of the Maryland.gov website. All requests for links to non-governmental sites will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. DoIT neither endorses nor guarantees in any way the external organizations, services, advice, or products included in these website links. Furthermore, DoIT neither controls nor guarantees the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of the information contained in non-government website links.
Link Evaluation Criteria
DoIT evaluates all links using the following criteria:
- Is the website an official government-owned or supported website?
- Does the website provide government information and/or services in a way that is not available on an official government website?
- Does the website complement existing information, products, and services on Maryland.gov?
- Is the website accessible and applicable to a wide audience?
- Is the website's content relevant, useful, and authoritative for citizens, businesses, and/or government officials?
- Does the website's information appear to be accurate and current?
- Is the website's approach to the privacy of personal information consistent with Maryland.gov’s privacy and security policies?
- Is the primary intent of the website to educate and inform, rather than persuade, convert, or sell? The site may include advertising but must be free from heavy marketing or promotion of products.
- Does the website provide information free of charge?
Linking to Maryland.gov
Linking to the Maryland.gov web portal or Maryland state agency websites is permitted with the following limitations:
- You may not capture Maryland.gov pages within frames or present Maryland.gov content as your own.
- You may not state or imply that the State of Maryland, DoIT, or Maryland.gov is endorsing your product, site, or services.
Maryland.gov does not engage in reciprocal linking.
Prohibitions
Maryland.gov will not link to any website that contains the following types of content:
- Sites that exhibit hate, bias, discrimination, pornography, libelous or otherwise defamatory content;
- Affiliation or advocacy of a political party, organization, or candidate running for office;
- Content not suitable for readers or viewers of all ages;
- Content that infringes on any trademark, copyright, or patent rights of another;
- Content that a reasonable citizen may not consider maintaining the dignity and decorum appropriate for government.
Maryland.gov reserves the right to deny or remove any link that contains misleading information or unsubstantiated claims, or is determined to be in conflict with Maryland.gov’s mission or policies.
