Copyright Policy of Modern Phoenix LLC
Including ModernPhoenix.net, BeadleArchive.com and RalphHaver.com
The short story: Don't steal images, it's bad karma. Here's why.
Most photography on ModernPhoenix.net and its subdomains is likely copyright Modern Phoenix LLC, all rights reserved. Some works may be made available under Creative Commons licensing (and are clearly marked as such with CCBY attribution) or are Public Domain. Images we have uploaded to Wikipedia are one example. Many images are available for commercial or journalistic licensing, and inquiries are welcome. Use of images from this website are subject to our Terms of Use policy available here.
Many photographs are submitted by readers with express permission given to Modern Phoenix LLC to reproduce them. Individual photographer names, where available, are typically noted at the end of each page or beneath individual photographs. Consult with individual photographers, typically available through a Google or Facebook search, to inquire on reproduction of these images on your own site.
Some imagery, such as vintage postcards, photographs or advertisements displayed on the website are not yet in public domain. Many have been used with the architect or photographer's permission as part of a portfolio of promotional work. Many images are part of the Modern Phoenix Archive and are reproduced as part of Modern Phoenix LLC's collection. Other images may have been reproduced under the umbrella of "Fair Use".
The Modern Phoenix™ brand of services is registered as a U.S. trademark for entertainment, journalism, and education. Because our mission allows us to reproduce copyrighted imagery under the umbrella of Fair Use, it does not mean that everyone can. Most citizens, for example, are not professional journalists, critics, or educators.
So, can you copy and re-publish our photos or not?
NO! Unless specifically Fair Use, most use of our website's photography on your personal or commercial website, and especially for commercial use in print, video, blogging, web or other formats, is a violation of the terms of the photographer's copyright. Use of the imagery for any object of resale, including products, fine artwork, apparel, photo prints and books is also a violation of the terms. Consult our Terms of Use for more information.
BUT YES! Personal use for private and casual viewing is permitted. Example: printing a photo out to pin on a bulletin board, encouraging your interior designer to display it on a charette board for your home, or using it as a screen saver on your electronic device.
AND YES! Linking to individual images on social media for display on a "wall" such as Facebook, "regramming" on Instagram or "pinning" to digital inspiration boards such as Pinterest is acceptable use as long as it links back to the original location on the modernphoenix.net domain or social media platform it was originally published on.
Downloading the file and re-uploading the file for display on your own social media could likely be a violation of terms, depending on the nature of the image and your use of it. Excessive and exclusive "online collections" of images that do not include images from other sources might be misconstrued for an actual Modern Phoenix collection, no matter how well intentioned, and may be a violation of our copyright.
AND YES! For Fair Use. You don't even have to ask us, as long as you attribute as professionals are obliged to do. But read on.
Professional Bloggers (including citizen journalists) are encouraged to link to the source of borrowed imagery from their own websites and are encouraged to ask permission first. The answer is usually yes, unless we are not legally empowered to grant permission on behalf of another. Amateur bloggers or those making no substantial journalistic, critical, educational or transformative use of the imagery may be in violation of the terms.
Professional educators are encouraged to use imagery with a small credit line to Modern Phoenix LLC in slide shows and multimedia presentations. Permission need not be acquired if it is truly fair use.
Our request to you.
Modern Phoenix LLC has put considerable time and effort in photographing and acquiring imagery that illustrates the principles of modern design in Arizona. This is our livelihood. We make great effort to offer several events that are free to the public each year, we lecture for free in the community, provide hours of civic service and contribute to Creative Commons. The core of our business -- the website -- is available 24 hours free of charge. We believe in free so much that it is woven into the very fabric of our business practices.
Please help retain the value of our work by not diluting it unnecessarily. Let us decide what is free or not. When you remove the imagery from the framing context of Modernphoenix.net (and especially its credit line) your unattributed borrowing devalues the entire body of work.
When in doubt, ask. When permitted, credit and link back.
THANKS!
Alison King and Matthew King
Modern Phoenix LLC