DMCA & Copyright Policy

Copyright, in both directions

This page runs both ways. It is how a rights holder tells us we have used their work without permission, and it is the notice that our own work is protected in the same way. RTD JOURNAL respects copyright, expects the same in return, and tries to handle claims quickly and without drama.

Most disputes we see are not theft, they are misunderstandings about what is allowed. Reporting on a photograph is not the same as being free to republish it. Quoting a paragraph with a link is usually fine. Lifting a whole article is not. If you are unsure which side of the line you are on, ask before you publish, not after.

If you believe we have infringed your work

Send a notice to support@rtdjournal.com with COPYRIGHT at the front of the subject line, and give us enough to act on without a second exchange. A complete notice includes the following.

• Identification of the work you say has been infringed, with a link or a copy so we can see exactly what you mean.
• The precise location on our site of the material you are complaining about: the article link, and where on the page the item sits.
• Your contact details, so we can reach you.
• A statement that you believe in good faith the use was not authorised by you, your agent, or the law.
• A statement that the information in your notice is accurate, and that you are the rights holder or authorised to act for them.
• Your signature, physical or electronic.

We act on complete notices promptly. Where a claim is clear, we remove or replace the material while we look into it, which is not an admission of anything, just the sensible order to do things in.

What happens after a notice

Not every complaint ends in a takedown, and we will not pretend it does. Some uses are fair dealing or fair use: a short quotation, an image discussed as the subject of a story, a screenshot used to report on the thing it shows. Where we think a use is lawful and in the public interest, we may keep it up and explain why, rather than remove reporting because a complaint arrived. Where you are plainly right, we fix it and, if a genuine error of ours put your work there, we treat that as a correction under our corrections policy as well.

If we remove something and the person who posted it believes the removal was a mistake, they can send a counter-notice: identifying the material, saying where it was, and stating under penalty of the applicable law that they believe it was removed in error. We will weigh both sides rather than let the loudest party win by default.

Our own content

The reporting, writing, images, and graphics we produce are ours, protected by copyright, and not free to republish in full. You are welcome to quote a reasonable extract with clear attribution and a link back to the original story. You are not welcome to copy whole articles, mirror the site, or feed our work into a republishing operation, whether by hand or by scraper.

Some of what appears on the site, wire photographs and agency reports in particular, is licensed to us and carries the licensor’s own restrictions, which can be tighter than our own. When in doubt, assume you need permission, and ask. The broader rules on using the site are in our terms of service.

Repeat infringers, and acting in good faith

We keep records of complaints, and we will restrict or remove access for anyone who repeatedly posts infringing material in any part of the site we host. We also expect notices to be honest. A takedown aimed at burying accurate journalism rather than protecting a real copyright is an abuse of this process, and we treat it as one, which can mean declining it and reporting on the attempt.

If you are a rights holder wanting a licence to republish something of ours, or a reader unsure whether your intended use is allowed, write to support@rtdjournal.com before you act. It is a great deal easier to agree a use in advance than to unwind one afterwards. Corrections to any factual error in this process follow our corrections policy.

Last updated: August 2026