Respect Copyright: Restrictions, and How to Request Permission for Reuse

© Mari Lynch, BikeMonterey.org. All rights reserved. All material on this website is protected by laws governing copyright and trademark, and other laws relating to the protection of intellectual property.

 Since founded May 2009, and still the case in Oct 2024, all work by the founder on this website and on all other Bicycling Monterey projects has been done as an unpaid volunteer.

Think it’s okay if you just use a photo or two from the thousands of original photos on this site? The internet has made theft of photos, text, and other content easy. It has not made theft ethical, or legal. If you’d like to reuse a photo or other content, scroll down to “How to request permission for reuse.”

 

To learn about copyright, scroll down to headers “Hey, the internet is fair game. That’s just how it is today….”  and “Respect copyright.”
If you are a curator or framer or have an aggregate site, portal, rewriting site, etc., refer to “Advisory” at the end of this page.
All other users, please continue reading.
Phone Bicycling Monterey
if you have questions or need help.
© Mari Lynch, BikeMonterey.org. All rights reserved. All material on this website is protected by laws governing copyright and trademark, and other laws relating to the protection of intellectual property.
Unless otherwise specified below, written permission is necessary in order to reuse any text, photos, art, or other material on this website. This material is provided online, free of charge, for personal use only.
  • Mari Lynch is the copyright holder of all text and photographs produced by Mari Lynch and published on this site. Phone Bicycling Monterey to request permission for reuse.
  • Additional copyright holders on this site—e.g., contributors of guest posts, photos, or art—also require permission before reuse of their material. Phone Bicycling Monterey for further information.
  • Any material used on this site that is not original and is under copyright is used under Fair Use under the Copyright Act of 1976, 17 U.S.C. § 107 or other appropriate legislation. If you come across any infringing material, please contact Mari so the material can be removed immediately.
  • To learn more about copyright laws, scroll down to Respect Copyright.

How to request permission for reuse

Start by phoning Bicycling Monterey. Click here for contact information.
FAQ: What about reusing a photo?
Request written permission. If permission is granted, the following acknowledgement is normally required.
© Mari Lynch, BikeMonterey.org – Used by permission.
If used online, the photo is also to be linked to either this site’s home page (https://bikemonterey.org) – or to the specific page on this site where the photo appeared.
FAQ: What about posting a photo on Facebook or other social media sites? 
  • You are welcome to post a link to Bicycling Monterey on Facebook. If you do, Facebook normally auto-generates publication of a Bicycling Monterey photo, even though Facebook’s bot will likely pull an unrelated photo. Since Facebook also auto-generates a reference that includes the source URL, that will be sufficient as an acknowledgement.
  • Please phone Bicycling Monterey if you have questions.
About photo reuse fees
No photo is to be used without written permission. When permission is granted, it is normally for one-time reuse of a photo, only for your own website or presentation.

In addition, note that since August 2015, it has been advised that a standard fee for photo reuse will usually be required. Reduced fees or fee waivers may be granted in some cases; feel free to ask.

As of October 1, 2024, all permission granted for reuse of any photo from this site has been provided free of charge, with the following six exceptions. These six exceptions were all copyright infringements. None had requested permission for their reuse of our work, and none had even credited our work, or informed us of their reuse. They are as follows:
  • Two separate contractors for a public agency had used our photos in proposals and/or public presentations for which they were highly paid by that agency; they had presented our work as their own. As an acknowledgement of their theft of material from our site, we required those two contractors to make contributions to Monterey Bay Region organizations that we appreciate (Monterey County Free Libraries, the National Steinbeck Center, and KUSP).
  • In January 2020, for the first time, and again in June 2022, we requested and received payment for photo reuse by a public agency that was a repeat copyright infringer. Prior to January 2020, that agency had received multiple reminders about the importance of requesting permission.
  • In March 2020, we demanded and received payment from a media group for their unauthorized reuse of both photo and text from this site. They had ripped off that content from our site, then published it on the site of a municipality who had paid them for our work.
  • In April 2020, we requested and received a small contribution from a paid employee of an organization. That employee had ripped off a photo from our site, then published it in a public online presentation as part of their paid work for that organization.

Reminder

To consulting firms, contractors, and others
While it’s appreciated that you find Bicycling Monterey photos or other content valuable for your work, it isn’t okay to reuse the material without first obtaining written permission.
If permission is granted, the source is to be acknowledged (e.g., “© Mari Lynch, BikeMonterey.org – Used by permission.”). This includes such things as using a photo in a PDF or other document whether or not it is discoverable online; or in a slide show, report, or other presentation. A standard fee for reuse will normally be required.

Examples of reuse of a Bicycling Monterey photo with an approved standard or alternate credit line:

  1. Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission’s Complete Streets Tool Kit, Chapter 6: http://www.morpc.org/trans/completestreetstoolkit_6.1pedestriansenf.pdf (Acknowledgement and link alongside the photo, and a citation in the report’s sources section.)
  2. Transportation for Michigan – Community Strategies for Bus Stop Improvement and Maintenance (https://www.michigan.gov/mdot/0,4616,7-151-9625_21607—,00.html)
  3. Sightline Institute: News and Views for a Sustainable Northwest

Sadly, numerous others have reused Bicycling Monterey content without permission and without crediting it—presenting Bicycling Monterey work as their own. This has been spotted by chance in contract proposals for public agencies, and in other presentations for which the infringers were highly paid by public agencies.

Among infringers of Bicycling Monterey content are paid professionals working for nationally known corporations and small firms alike, as well as some working for cities or other public agencies. All that have been caught were bearing degrees from U.C. Berkeley, Stanford University, or other renowned educational institutions. Some even have ethics specialties on their resumes. Unless these renowned universities are falling down in their teaching, this theft of Bicycling Monterey’s intellectual property didn’t happen because of the infringers’ lack of knowledge of copyright law, or of business ethics.

Since founded in 2009, and still the case as 2024 begins, the Bicycling Monterey website and all other Bicycling Monterey projects have been provided as a public service by the founder, an unpaid volunteer. Respect that work; respect copyright!

In addition to photos, ethical individuals and organizations acknowledge other Bicycling Monterey content through citations such as found in the references section of a paper on “Automatic Vehicle Turning Indicator” published April 3, 2018 in International Research Journal in Advanced Engineering and Technology (IRJAET) http://www.irjaet.com/Volume4-Issue-2/paper48.pdf.

FAQ: What about linking to Bicycling Monterey?
  • Brief excerpts and links are welcome and appreciated, provided that full and clear credit is given to the source (e.g., bikemonterey.org). Include appropriate and specific direction to the original content. Not sure how to do that? Phone Bicycling Monterey for help. To ensure accuracy in sharing information, ask Bicycling Monterey if you need help with appropriate text to accompany your link.
  • Facebook users: You are welcome to post a link on  your Facebook wall.  If you’re confused by Facebook’s auto-generated info and photo, contact Bicycling Monterey for help. Read more about Facebook elsewhere on this page.
FAQ: What about copying Bicycling Monterey’s links to other sites?

When sharing links, research the sources yourself so you have a personal understanding of the content, and write your own text.  Whenever appropriate, include an acknowledgement of BikeMonterey.org.

Hey, the internet is fair game. That’s just how it is today….

Theft is theft.  Despite popular opinion, that’s true for copyrighted material/intellectual property as it is for stealing property of other types.
The internet has made theft of a creator’s content easy. It hasn’t made theft ethical, or legal.
Some people attempt to explain away ripping off content. Often they call internet theft a matter of “freedom,” and they may convince their audience by confusing them, by mixing in other valid issues (e.g., Creative Commons licensing), and by distracting from the core issues.
Many creators of original content—including Bicycling Monterey, the Monterey Bay Aquarium (e.g., see Usage notice in their Newsroom), and others—find it increasingly necessary to post detailed reminders about copyright. Again, even people with business and other degrees from top universities often appear to lack knowledge about business ethics and copyright laws.

Respect copyright.

To learn more about copyright, see:
  • http://fairuse.stanford.edu/Copyright_and_Fair_Use_Overview/
  • http://fairuse.stanford.edu/Copyright_and_Fair_Use_Overview/chapter6/index.html
  • http://www.nwu.org/freelancers-copyright-guide-0
  • http://www.authorsguild.org/publications/writers-legal-guide/
  • http://creativecommons.org/
  • http://www.teachingcopyright.org/resources
  • http://www.copyright.gov

Advisory

to curators, framers, aggregate sites, link blogs, portals, rewriting sites, and “The Such-and-Such Daily Is Out” sites:
Reuse of Bicycling Monterey material is not allowed by such sites without written permission.  All material on this site is copyright protected.  Infringements are subject to enforcement by U.S. and international copyright laws. Click here to visit the Stanford Copyright & Fair Use webpages on linking and framing. As stated in the framing section, “When framing the content of another site…you are entering hazardous territory. Unless you know a site won’t object (and preferably have their agreement in writing), you should proceed very carefully if you want to frame its content.”
If written permission is granted to excerpt from this site, the following are required:
  1. inspire readers to go to the source post (on the Bicycling Monterey website)
  2. do not serve as a substitute for the need to read the source post
  3. make it easy to see the source link
To learn more about copyright, see additional resources above.
Phishing sites are reported, e.g., to Google and US-CERT.

 

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