Copyright, Image Credits & Takedown Policy

Open Ending publishes written analysis and criticism of films. That work sometimes requires showing a frame from the film being discussed. This page explains what we use, why, and how a rights holder can have it removed.

What we use and why

We publish three kinds of visual material:

• Original illustrations. Artwork created for this site, including our social share cards. No third-party rights are involved.
• Embedded trailers. Official trailers are embedded from YouTube using their standard player. The video file is served by YouTube, not by us. We do not host or re-upload trailer material.
• Freely licensed photographs. Photographs published under a Creative Commons or public domain licence, used unmodified and credited in full.

How photographs are credited

Every third-party photograph on this site carries a credit line beneath it naming the photographer, the licence, and a link to both the licence text and the source page. We do not crop, alter, or composite licensed photographs, and we do not remove credit lines.

If you are a photographer whose work appears here and you would prefer it removed, see below. We remove first and discuss afterwards.

Film stills

We may occasionally include a frame from the film under discussion where a written argument depends on what is visible in that frame. Where we do, our policy is fixed:

• One still per point of discussion. No galleries, image sets, or sequences of scenes.
• Each still carries an argument. The caption states what the frame shows and why it matters. A still that would only decorate the page is not published.
• Credited to the studio or distributor, with a link to the source.
• Reduced resolution, sufficient for reading the image in context and not as a substitute for viewing the film.
• No marketing material. We avoid promotional hero shots and poster art, which exist for advertising rather than for critical discussion.

This follows the fair use principles in United States copyright law, in particular use of a work for criticism and commentary. The Society for Cinema and Media Studies has published the position that publishing film stills for scholarly and critical discussion is fair use and that permission should not be required.

Rights holders: request a removal

If you hold rights to material published on this site and you object to its use, contact us and we will act. We do not require a formal legal notice to remove something — a clear request is enough.

Please include:

• The URL of the page containing the material
• A description of the material, or a screenshot identifying it
• Your relationship to the rights, and a way to reach you
• What you want done: removal, replacement, or a change to the credit line

Send requests to ujib7328@gmail.com. We aim to respond within two business days, and where a request is clear we remove or replace the material first and discuss afterwards.

If you believe material on this site infringes your copyright and you wish to send a formal notice under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, you may do so at the same address. We will act on notices that comply with 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(3).

Corrections

If a caption misattributes a frame, describes the wrong scene, or credits the wrong studio, tell us and we will correct it. Attribution errors are our mistake, not a rights issue, and we fix them promptly.

Our own material

The written analysis, original illustrations, and share cards on this site are our own work. You may quote a short excerpt with a link back. Republishing an article in full is not permitted.