IP Protection

1. Ownership of Intellectual Property

All intellectual property rights in and to the BX-CNX platform — including but not limited to software, source code, database architecture, user interface design, branding, trade marks, logos, and all original content — are owned by or licensed to BLACMEX CIC (company number 15881810).

BLACMEX™ is a trade mark of BLACMEX CIC. Unauthorised use of the BLACMEX name, logo, or trade marks is strictly prohibited.

2. Licence to Use the Platform

Subject to your compliance with these terms, BLACMEX grants you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable licence to access and use the platform for its intended purpose only. This licence does not include the right to:

• Copy, reproduce, or distribute any part of the platform or its content
• Reverse-engineer, decompile, or disassemble any software component
• Create derivative works based on the platform
• Use any platform content for commercial purposes without prior written consent
• Scrape, crawl, or systematically extract data from the platform

3. User Submissions and Ownership

You retain ownership of any original creative content or personal data you submit to the platform. By submitting data, you grant BLACMEX CIC a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive licence to use, process, store, and include your submission in anonymised sector reports and platform outputs, in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

This licence does not transfer ownership of your submitted content to BLACMEX, and we will not sell your individually identifiable data to third parties.

4. Protection of African and Black Music IP

BLACMEX is committed to supporting the protection of intellectual property rights of artists, creators, and organisations within the African and Black music sector. The platform is designed to help document, evidence, and support the work of creators — not to exploit it.

We encourage all platform users to ensure their own creative works are properly protected through appropriate registration and licensing mechanisms in their respective territories.

5. Reporting IP Infringement

If you believe that any content on the BX-CNX platform infringes your intellectual property rights, please contact us immediately at admin@blacmex.uk with:

• A description of the IP right you believe has been infringed
• The specific content or URL you believe constitutes infringement
• Your contact details and a statement confirming your good faith belief

We will investigate all legitimate notices and take appropriate action, which may include removal of the relevant content.

6. Open Data and Sector Reports

Anonymised, aggregated sector reports published by BLACMEX may be made available under open data licences to support research and advocacy. Where this occurs, the terms of the applicable licence will be clearly stated in the report itself.

7. Governing Law

These IP terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales. Any dispute arising in connection with intellectual property matters shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

8. Intellectual Property Assignment

All intellectual property, source code, designs, workflows, prompts, documentation, databases, methodologies, and derivative works are assigned exclusively to BLACMEX CIC.