Copyright Policy – Aligned By Light

Copyright and DMCA Policy

Last Updated: November 2025

1. Copyright Ownership

All content published on Aligned By Light (alignedbylight.com), including but not limited to articles, text, images, graphics, logos, research summaries, case examples, and all other materials, is the exclusive intellectual property of Aligned By Light and is protected by:

  • Australian Copyright Act 1968
  • International copyright treaties and conventions
  • Common law copyright protections

© 2025 Aligned By Light. All Rights Reserved.

2. Copyright Notice

Every article and piece of content on this Site is automatically protected by copyright from the moment of creation. You will see copyright notices on individual articles in the following format:

© [Year] Aligned By Light. All rights reserved. This article may not be reproduced without permission.

3. What You MAY Do (Permitted Uses)

3.1 Personal Reading

You may read and view our content on the Site for personal, non-commercial educational purposes.

3.2 Social Media Sharing

You may share links to our articles on social media platforms, provided:

  • You link directly to the original article on our Site
  • You do not copy and paste the full article text
  • You properly attribute the content to Aligned By Light

3.3 Brief Quotations (Fair Dealing)

Under Australian copyright law’s “fair dealing” provisions, you may quote brief excerpts for purposes such as:

  • Research or study
  • Criticism or review
  • News reporting

Guidelines for fair dealing quotations:

  • Maximum 150 words per excerpt
  • No more than 10% of the total article
  • Must include full attribution: “From [Article Title] by Aligned By Light, available at [URL]”
  • Must link back to the original source
  • Must be used in context of criticism, review, or commentary
  • Must not substitute for reading the original work

4. What You MAY NOT Do (Prohibited Uses)

Without our express written permission, you may NOT:

4.1 Reproduction and Distribution

  • Copy, reproduce, or republish full articles or substantial portions
  • Distribute or redistribute our content in any form
  • Publish our content on other websites, blogs, or platforms
  • Include our content in newsletters, ebooks, or compilations
  • Print and distribute our content in physical form

4.2 Commercial Use

  • Use our content for any commercial purpose
  • Sell or profit from our content in any way
  • Use our content in paid courses, workshops, or training materials
  • Incorporate our content into commercial products or services

4.3 Derivative Works

  • Create derivative works based on our content
  • Translate our content without permission
  • Modify, adapt, or build upon our content
  • Create “spin” versions or rewritten versions of our articles

4.4 Automated Collection

  • Use web scrapers, bots, or automated tools to collect our content
  • Create databases or collections of our content
  • Use RSS feed readers to redistribute full-text content

4.5 Misattribution

  • Remove or alter copyright notices
  • Claim authorship of our content
  • Present our content as your own work
  • Remove attribution or links back to the original source

5. Requesting Permission to Use Content

If you wish to use our content beyond the permitted uses outlined above, you must request written permission in advance.

5.1 How to Request Permission

Send an email to abl@alignedbylight.com.au with the following information:

  • Your Details: Name, email, organization (if applicable)
  • Content Details: Specific article(s) or content you wish to use (include URLs)
  • Intended Use: Detailed description of how you plan to use the content
  • Distribution: Where and how the content will be published or distributed
  • Audience: Who will have access to the content
  • Duration: How long you intend to use the content
  • Commercial/Non-Commercial: Whether your use is for commercial purposes

5.2 Response Time

We aim to respond to permission requests within 7-14 business days. Permission is granted at our sole discretion and may be subject to conditions.

5.3 Licensing Fees

Depending on the nature and scope of your intended use, licensing fees may apply. Commercial uses typically require paid licensing agreements.

6. Reporting Copyright Infringement (DMCA)

We take copyright infringement seriously and actively protect our intellectual property.

6.1 If You Find Our Content Elsewhere

If you discover our content being used without permission on another website or platform, please inform us immediately at abl@alignedbylight.com.au with:

  • URL of the infringing page
  • URL of the original article on our Site
  • Description of the infringement
  • Any other relevant details

6.2 If You Believe We’ve Infringed Your Copyright

If you believe that content on our Site infringes your copyright, please provide us with a written notice containing:

  • Your contact information: Name, address, email, phone number
  • Identification of copyrighted work: Description of the work you claim has been infringed
  • Identification of infringing material: URL or location of the allegedly infringing content on our Site
  • Good faith statement: A statement that you have a good faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law
  • Accuracy statement: A statement that the information in your notice is accurate
  • Authority statement: A statement, under penalty of perjury, that you are authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner
  • Signature: Your physical or electronic signature

Send your DMCA notice to: abl@alignedbylight.com.au

6.3 Our Response to Infringement

Upon receiving a valid DMCA notice, we will:

  • Investigate the claim promptly
  • Remove or disable access to allegedly infringing content if appropriate
  • Notify the alleged infringer
  • Provide opportunity for counter-notification if applicable

7. Our Copyright Enforcement

We actively monitor for unauthorized use of our content and will take action when infringement is discovered, including:

7.1 Initial Actions

  • Sending cease and desist letters
  • Filing DMCA takedown notices with hosting providers
  • Requesting removal from search engine results
  • Contacting social media platforms to remove infringing content

7.2 Legal Action

For serious or repeated infringement, we reserve the right to:

  • Pursue legal action under Australian copyright law
  • Seek statutory damages and legal fees
  • Report copyright violations to relevant authorities

7.3 Consequences of Infringement

Copyright infringement can result in:

  • Legal liability and monetary damages
  • Removal of content from your website or platform
  • Damage to your professional reputation
  • Loss of search engine rankings due to duplicate content penalties

8. Attribution Requirements

When you are permitted to quote or reference our content, proper attribution must include:

  1. Author/Source: “Aligned By Light” or “From Aligned By Light”
  2. Article Title: Full title of the article
  3. Link: Direct hyperlink to the original article
  4. Date: Publication or access date (optional but recommended)

Example attribution:

“As discussed in ‘[Article Title]’ by Aligned By Light (https://alignedbylight.com/article-url)…”

9. Educational and Academic Use

We recognize the value of our content for educational purposes. Academic researchers, students, and educators may use our content under fair dealing provisions, subject to:

  • Proper citation and attribution
  • Non-commercial educational use only
  • Compliance with fair dealing guidelines
  • Not creating substitute materials that reduce need to access original

For more extensive academic use, please contact us to discuss appropriate licensing.

10. Media and Press Use

Journalists and media professionals may:

  • Quote brief excerpts for news reporting purposes
  • Reference our articles with proper attribution and links
  • Contact us for interviews or expert commentary

For feature articles or more extensive use, please contact abl@alignedbylight.com.au to discuss appropriate permissions.

11. Translation Rights

Translation of our content into other languages requires explicit written permission. Unauthorized translations constitute copyright infringement.

If you are interested in translating our content, please contact us to discuss licensing arrangements.

12. User-Generated Content

If you submit comments or other content to our Site, you represent and warrant that:

  • You own or have the right to use the content you submit
  • Your submission does not infringe any third-party copyrights
  • You grant us a license to display and use your submission on our Site

13. Changes to This Policy

We reserve the right to modify this Copyright Policy at any time. Changes will be effective immediately upon posting to the Site. Continued use of our content after changes constitutes acceptance of the modified policy.

14. International Copyright Protection

Our content is protected not only under Australian law but also internationally through:

  • Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works
  • Universal Copyright Convention
  • WIPO Copyright Treaty
  • Other international copyright agreements

15. Contact Information

For questions, permission requests, or to report copyright infringement:

  • Email: abl@alignedbylight.com.au
  • Website: alignedbylight.com

Summary: Our content is valuable intellectual property created through extensive research and expertise. We are committed to protecting our copyrights while also supporting legitimate educational and commentary uses. When in doubt about whether your intended use is permitted, please ask for permission first.