Penalty policy will be implemented in order to ensure the transaction stability and credibility of all products on ACON.
Copyright/AI violation penalties will be imposed for infringing on another individual's copyrights, or using AI during the process of your product sales.
1) Penalty operation policies
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Penalties may be imposed on any partner who is active on ACON.
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Penalties will be enforced based on reports. Any individual, including ACON users and partners, may submit a report for a product suspected of copyright infringement or AI use.
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The partner must submit a statement of explanation or make modifications to their product within 3 days of receiving a report.
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The partner may submit explanatory materials during the grace period, and the penalty may be lifted after an internal review.
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Penalty records will not be deleted automatically
Grace Period Notice
The grace period is within 3 days from the date ACON sends the copyright infringement explanation request email.
* However, in exceptional cases, sales may be suspended earlier depending on the situation.
2) Which products will receive a penalty?
Products with copyright infringement
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Any product that were created using sources that cannot be used for commercial purposes.
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Any product that copied sets or scenes from movies and TV shows without permission in the production process.
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Any product that copied another creative work without permission in the production process.
Products that have utilized AI
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Any product where AI was directly/indirectly involved in the production process.
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Any product that includes an AI-generated image in the detailed description of the product.
※If a product is found to contain other illegal/unjust elements, it will still be subject to penalties.
If copyright violations or AI usage issues arise from products currently on sale, the partner will be responsible for all legal liabilities and compensation to the original creator and buyers.
3) Penalty Process
1.
Receiving a report of a violation: Once we receive a copyright infringement/AI usage report, we will confirm the presence of a violation.
2.
Request for an explanation and modification:
a.
After receiving a report, ACON may request the following of the partner who is selling the product. The Partner must respond to the request within the grace period
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A request for explanatory materials (if no violations were made)
Format for explanatory materials
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A request for modifications to be made to the product (if violations were made)
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If the Partner cannot modify the product within the grace period, product sales will be put on hold until the modifications have been made.
If the partner does not respond within the grace period, the product sales will be discontinued.
3.
How the measures will be applied: The final measures will be applied according to steps 1-4.
※ Steps 3-4 may be omitted depending on the measures taken, as well as the criteria.
4) Review of the violations
ACON will determine if there was a copyright infringement/AI usage based on the partner's explanatory materials and the reporter's receipt. After this process, ACON will send communications to each party as follows.
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Confirmed Violation
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A violation is deemed confirmed if there is clear, objective evidence of copyright infringement or unauthorized AI usage, or if the accused party admits to the violation.
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Failure to submit explanatory materials, or submission of materials deemed insufficient to disprove the violation, will also result in a confirmed violation.
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In such cases, ACON will immediately suspend sales of the product and impose penalties. Additionally, ACON may request that the partner make necessary modifications to the product.
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Unclear Violation
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If, after reviewing both the report and the accused party’s explanatory materials, it remains unclear whether copyright infringement or unauthorized AI usage has occurred, the violation will be classified as unclear.
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Even if the violation is not definitively proven, ACON may recommend partial modifications (such as editing or deleting certain elements) to ensure the product can continue regular sales.
If a clear explanation is not provided for a suspended product, the product will be permanently removed from sale.
5) Penalty measures and criteria
Stages | Criteria | Penalty items |
Caution | Issued when 1–2 products currently listed for sale are found to involve copyright infringement or unauthorized AI usage. | All detected products will be immediately suspended from sales.
The entire settlement process will be put on hold.
*Sales and settlements will resume once the issues are fully resolved. |
Warning | Issued when 3 products currently listed for sale are found to involve copyright infringement or unauthorized AI usage. | All detected products will be immediately suspended from sales.
The entire settlement process will be put on hold.
*Sales and settlements will resume once the issues are fully resolved.
• 7-day suspension of access to the Partner Hub
• Restriction on new product registration
• Restriction on applying for promotions |
Usage restrictions | Imposed when 4 products currently listed for sale are found to involve copyright infringement or unauthorized AI usage. | All detected products will be immediately suspended from sales.
The entire settlement process will be put on hold.
*Sales and settlements will resume once the issues are fully resolved.
• 30-day suspension of access to the Partner Hub
• Restriction on new product registration
• Restriction on applying for promotions |
Account Closure | Enforced when 5 products currently listed for sale are found to involve copyright infringement or unauthorized AI usage. This will result in the permanent closure of the seller's account on the platform. | All products will be immediately suspended from sales.
The entire settlement process will be put on hold.
*Settlement discussions will only proceed after legal liabilities are resolved and compensation for affected buyers is addressed. |
If a partner is found to have illegally copied or modified a third-party product for sale, usage restrictions will be imposed immediately, irrespective of the number of detected products.
6) Notes
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If you are subject to penalty measures, settlements will be withheld until a formal explanation regarding the penalty is provided. (Note: If the explanation is submitted after the scheduled settlement date, the payment will be processed in the following quarter.)
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If a copyright penalty is imposed on a bundle product, the penalty will also apply to its sub-products. However, the penalty will be imposed only once, covering both the bundle product and its sub-products.
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Restrictions on access to the Partner Hub will be lifted automatically once the restriction period ends.
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If a violation is discovered after the "usage restriction" period has been lifted, the restriction will be reimposed automatically.
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If you submit a statement of explanation during the "usage restriction" period, restrictions may be lifted upon a successful review.
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If no additional issues occur within one year from the date of the final penalty, all accumulated penalties will be lifted.
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Partners who have been penalized are not permitted to change their brand name.
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If copyright violations are identified in multiple products during the review stage, further measures may be taken.
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Partners who have been terminated from the platform are not allowed to re-enter.