Copyright Rules
Here’s How to Handle Story Photos on Medium.
Publication policy for the writers of Illumination Integrated Publications on Medium.
New writer inquiries and applications for Illumination Integration Publications are through the registration portal. Please review the onboarding pack before submitting your stories. I look forward to supporting your stories on Medium.
Dear Writers,
This is our most important guideline, as breaches of copyright rules for photos cause serious issues affecting writers from multiple angles. Our goal is to protect you from hefty fines and damage to your reputation. Some writer lost their account on Medium due to using copyrighted images. We don’t want this to happen to you.
POLICY: Every new writer joining Illumination Integrated Publications must read and understand the image handling policy before submitting their stories to our publications. It is an important matter on Medium and other writing platforms.
This is the most fundamental requirement causing delays in publishing and wasting valuable time of editors. With a little time investment it is preventable.
The new policy — Please read and comply.
Not Captioning and Using Copyright Photos Will Lead to Rejection of Stories
[2022 Addendum for fair use]
Why Image Copyrights Matter for Writers, Bloggers, and Editors
2023 Update
All images require provenance in every post submitted. We highly recommend that our writers make good use of the free image sites listed in this policy note.
Those that are on other sites require hyperlinks that the editor can visit to verify provenance. If this is not possible because the image is behind any kind of wall, the author must post under each image the following disclaimer:
‘The author assumes responsibility for the copyright of this image.’ Be aware that our editors have the choice to reject the story from publication in Illumination or take other measures.”
Furthermore, authors who create images using Metaverse are required to place the following statement right below the image: “This is a bot-generated image whose copyright is with the Author, by using Metaverse.”
Introduction and Background
Dear Contributing Writers,
I am the owner and chief editor of ILLUMINATION, ILLUMINATION-Curated, ILLUMINATION’S MIRROR, ILLUMINATION Book Chapters, SYNERGY, Technology Hits, and Readers Hope publications on Medium.
To comply with the laws of the United States and Medium’s rules and guidelines (“Laws and Rules”), my publications have strict rules about the use of “Images” of any kind (photos, graphics, vectors, graphic designs, GIFs, etc.) in submitted stories.
Managing issues related to story images has become a nightmare for our editors. We waste too much time. Thus, I want to stop this unnecessary work now.
It is the writers’ responsibility to submit Laws and Rules compliant images and cite them correctly. Previous informative and educative attempts helped improve the situation; however, as more and more new contributors join, we repeatedly experience the same issues ad nauseam.
Since my publications are now supporting over 24,000 writers and serving thousands of readers, we need to enforce the policy.
Based on our editorial team’s decisions, as of today, we implement this policy strictly.
This policy applies to ILLUMINATION, ILLUMINATION-Curated ILLUMINATION’ S MIRROR, ILLUMINATION Book Chapters, Technology Hits SYNERGY, Readers Hope, Illumination Videos and Podcasts, Illumination Gaming, ILLUMINATION’s Nutrition, ILLUMINATION’s Blog, and Euphoria
Stories that do not meet the guidelines set forth herein will be rejected (returned to the author) immediately.
This means that you need to fix the photo issue and resubmit.
If your stories don’t meet the policy, they will not be kept in the queue and not be published.
When your story is returned by our editors, you will see a private note like this.
“Dear author. Your image either is not Laws and Rules compliant and/or is not properly cited/captioned. Therefore, we are unable to proceed further. Please fix and resubmit when it’s ready. Details are in our policy. [link https://readmedium.com/handling-story-photos-26bf5a11d1da]
You can see private notes by clicking on the * sign on the right side of the first paragraph.
Please do not request any exceptions, even if you believe your image complies with the Laws and Rules. We are writers, not visual artists. I have never seen a story on Medium that is made or broken based on the ability to use one particular image.
The policy includes three key items.
1 — All Images in stories must be copyright-free.
2 — All Images in stories must be cited (captioned) with image sources.
3 — All Images in stories must comply with the Laws and Rules (which again is defined as the laws of the United States and Medium’s rules and guidelines).
2022 Update
Authors with access to images behind unique access or paywalls shall specify sourcing as follows:
Image available to author via unique access or behind paywall access; the author assumes responsibility for the authenticity.
We accept images from paid and subscription services.
Types of Images accepted in Our Publications
1 — Copyright free stock Images
2 — Copyright-free Images for public use like Wikimedia commons
3 — Personally owned Images
4 — Images from subscription services providing evidence to the subscription ownership
5 — Images that have been created or significantly customized with tools like Canva and Photoshop. Please see samples below.
Types of Images NOT Accepted in These Publications
1 — Copyrighted Images from any source for which permission to use has not been obtained. Please do not make “fair-use” exception arguments. Most of us are not lawyers and I will not risk allowing my editors to make decisions that require such specialized knowledge
2 — Screen captures from commercial websites, videos, and films
3 — Images downloaded or captured that have been uploaded by other people to social networks or online platforms, publications, magazines, books, etc. This prohibited items “3” does not include the capture of the text, and only the text posted to social media platforms, i.e., the image of a typed tweet, which would be a compliant image.
4 — GIFS and animated GIFS — For the protection of all readers’ computers, GIF’s of any type are not permitted. If you have created your own GIF, you may include a static .jpg or .png of it as an image.
5 — Any Image listed in Medium’s rules as otherwise unacceptable, e.g., “Nudity that is not content-supportive; nudity must be appropriate to the story and is not allowed in the feature image; Violent, graphic, or offensive images or videos.”
Reference: Medium Rules for Graphic content “We do not allow pornographic images or videos. We do allow erotic writing and non-graphic erotic images. We do not allow gratuitously graphic or disturbing media, even if it’s not pornographic.”
Common Stock Photo Sites You Can Safely Use
There may be many more, but these ten sites are used by our contributing writers. They are safe to use. However, even though images from these sites are free to use, they must be cited (captioned) with an image source. The subsequent section shows how to caption a photo in your story.
Unsplash, Pixabay, Pexels, DesignersPics, Picjumbo, NewOldStock, Magdeleine, iStock, ImageBase. Stocksnaps
Sample Captioning of Stock Photo
After downloading an image to your laptop, you will see the following pop-up screen under the photo.
You copy and paste the “photo by” section under the image you insert into your story.
Here is an example of captioning this photo.
When you click on the photo, the caption section will appear. All you need to do is copy and paste the source link.
How to caption your own photos
If you own the photo, you can use the following statements under your photo as a caption.
Image by author, Photo by author, Painting by author, Illustration by author, Diagram by author, Photo courtesy of [your Medium account name]
Here is a sample citation for an illustration that I developed using my drawing tools.
Sample citation for a customized photo
The following photo was customized by Dew Langrial using Photoshop. However, since she used an image from a stock site, she cited the link to the original version of the photo.
Please note that copying someone’s photo and captioning with your name is fraud and a cause for serious penalties.
When you doubt your content and photos, please check the Medium rules on this link.
AI-Generated Images
You can use machine-generated images created by yourself. However, you must caption them by adding a statement under the image.
“Image created by AI tool XYZ — the author has the provenance and copyright.”
Videos
Embedded videos from sites like YouTube do not require captions, but adding descriptive information in the caption section can benefit your readers. Descriptive information can include the following:
- The name of the video and the creator
- A brief summary of the video
- The key points of the video
- Any relevant timestamps
Conclusions
We are excited to support the stories of thousands of writers.
Enforcement of this policy will add further rigor to our quality assurance process and educate our writers on best practices using the Medium platform.
Thank you for your contributions. With this additional rigor, we will serve our readers better.
We are dedicated to serving our writers and readers.
Here is my list covering many stories I wrote about writing and overall content development guiding new writers.
Captioning your photos while lowering risks can also increase the chance of boosting on Medium.
If you are planning to create a writing business, handling content photos is vital.
If you want your stories to gain visibility and go viral, please pay attention to the photos in your content.
Here is a practical tip via a YouTube and TikTok video by one of our editors Aiden (Illumination Gaming).
Recently Updated Submission Guidelines
ILLUMINATION Videos and Podcasts: Submission Guidelines 2023
Publishing and Conduct Guidelines for the Lampshade of ILLUMINATION
References from Writers and Editors
This article was posted by Jennifer Geer, senior editor of Illumination Integrated Publications, on Medium.
As an Editor, This Is the Top Thing I See Writers Getting Wrong With Their Articles
This is an update of our policy by ILLUMINATION.
The following three articles are from Susie Kearley, a top writer on Illumination publication — Medium.
Susie also posted a recent article with more information.
Students Get $5000 Legal Demand for Using CC Image on a Blog
These Medium Writers Ran Into Legal Problems When Using Images
Here is a guiding story by Sara Marium in creating vector images.
The Must-Have Tool for Writers to Create Killer Vector Images
Please check this supplementary reference on fair use compiled by Marcus, senior editor of Illumination Integrated Publications.
AI-Generated Content Policy (NEW)
Stories submitted to Illumination Integrated Publications listed below should follow this policy statement guideline:
Your story content must be 100% human-generated and original, as validated by various tools our editors use. Stories not meeting this guideline will not be accepted in our publications except for our new publication, “Lampshade of Illumination,” designed to support AI-Generated content.
ILLUMINATION Integrated Publications include:
ILLUMINATION ILLUMINATION-Curated ILLUMINATION’ S MIRROR ILLUMINATION Book Chapters Technology Hits SYNERGY Readers Hope Illumination Videos and Podcasts Illumination Gaming ILLUMINATION’s Blog Lampshade of Illumination EUPHORIA by Dr Mehmet Yildiz
Meet Our Editors
You may receive private notes from our editors during the review process. Please check them. Here is a list of our editors so that you can recognize them and follow their caring advice.
Meet Dr Mehmet Yildiz — Dr Mehmet Yildiz Chief Editor and Owner
Editorial Profile of Dr Gabriella Korosi Dr. Gabriella Korosi
Meet Dr. Yogesh Haribhau Kulkarni PhD Yogesh Haribhau Kulkarni (PhD)
Helpful References for New Writers
Starter Kit for Writers of ILLUMINATION Integrated Publications
7 Tips for Freelance Writers Dealing with Chronic Stress Effectively
What I Learned After Publishing 1,010 And Reading 100,000 Stories
The Joy of Selling 1,000+ Books In A Month With Minimal Investment
Science-Based Therapeutic Value of Expressive Writing for Mental Health
Helpful Guides for All Contributors
Onboarding Pack for New Writers
New writers, please read this pack before submitting your stories.
Guiding Posts on our Publications
Publication-related stories can be accessed via this collection.
Starter Kit for Writers of ILLUMINATION Integrated Publications
Meet Editors of Our Publications
Introducing Writers Bios
Invitation: Join ILLUMINATION Gaming Publication as a Writer
Invitation to Write for ILLUMINATION Videos and Podcasts Publication
Updates from Euphoria by Dr Yildiz, owner of our publications
Invitation to ILLUMINATION YouTube Channel
Invitation to Write for ILLUMINATION on YouTube Publication
Invitation: Join ILLUMINATION Gaming Publication as a Writer
Invitation: Join ILLUMINATION Gaming Publication as a Writer
Publications by Our Writers on Medium
Invitation to Potential Writers
If you wish to join Illumination Integration publications, please send a request via this link. We will help you gain visibility and succeed as a top writer on Medium. Please mention the publication name with your Medium account I.D. in the request.
If you are new to Medium, you can join via this link. Readers can read thousands of stories, and writers may monetize self-published content.
Let’s collaborate!
You might find the links to our publications in the following list.
ILLUMINATION ILLUMINATION-Curated ILLUMINATION’ S MIRROR ILLUMINATION Book Chapters Technology Hits SYNERGY Readers Hope Illumination Videos and Podcasts Illumination Gaming ILLUMINATION’s Blog Euphoria
We will add more editor profiles soon. You may also bookmark this collection managed by ILLUMINATION-Curator so that you don’t miss it when we add new profiles. Collection of Editor Bios: Meet Editors of Illumination Integrated Publications.
Essential Resources for New Writers
Please use the attached checklist before submitting your stories to our publications.
Starter Kit for Writers of ILLUMINATION Integrated Publications
We keep our artifacts on the ILLUMINATION Blog
Many thanks to our editors, who helped me develop and review this policy. I am grateful and also appreciate their kind support in enforcing this policy to produce compliant and high-quality materials.
If you are a new reader and find this article valuable, you might check my holistic health and well-being stories reflecting on my reviews, observations, and decades of sensible experiments.
As a new reader, please check my holistic health and well-being stories reflecting my reviews, observations, and decades of experiments optimizing my hormones and neurotransmitters. I write about health as it matters. I believe health is all about homeostasis.
Petechiae, ALS, Metabolic Syndrome, Type II Diabetes, Fatty Liver Disease, Heart Disease, Strokes, Obesity, Liver Cancer, Autoimmune Disorders, Homocysteine, Lungs Health, Pancreas Health, Kidneys Health, NCDs, Infectious Diseases, Brain Health, Dementia, Depression, Brain Atrophy, Neonatal Disorders, Skin Health, Dental Health, Bone Health, Leaky Gut, Leaky Brain, Brain Fog, Chronic Inflammation, Insulin Resistance, Elevated Cortisol, Leptin Resistance, Anabolic Resistance, Cholesterol, High Triglycerides, Metabolic Disorders, Gastrointestinal Disorders, Thyroid Disorders, Anemia, Dysautonomia, cardiac output, and urinary track disorders.
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Lutein/Zeaxanthin, Phosphatidylserine, Boron, Urolithin, taurine, citrulline malate, biotin, lithium orotate, alpha-lipoic acid, n-acetyl-cysteine, acetyl-l-carnitine, CoQ10, PQQ, NADH, TMG, creatine, choline, digestive enzymes, magnesium, zinc, hydrolyzed collagen, nootropics, pure nicotine, activated charcoal, Vitamin B12, Vitamin B1, Vitamin D, Vitamin K2, Omega-3 Fatty Acids, N-Acetyl L-Tyrosine, and other nutrients.
Disclaimer: My posts do not include professional or health advice. I only document my reviews, observations, experiences, and perspectives to provide information and create awareness.
As part of my creative non-fiction writing goals, I’d like to share a few stories that might warm our hearts with a bit of humor into weighty topics.
Sample Humorous Stories
Based on my writing experience and observations, I documented findings and strategies that might help you amplify your voice, engage your audience, and achieve your desired outcomes in your writing journey.
I publish my lifestyle, health, and well-being stories on EUPHORIA. My focus is on cellular, mitochondrial, metabolic, and mental health. Here is my collection of Insightful Life Lessons from Personal Stories.
You might join my six publications on Medium as a writer by sending a request via this link. 25K writers contribute to my publications. You might find more information about my professional background.
