Image and Copyright Policy
How Athletes of Kenya sources, credits, and uses images.
Purpose
This policy explains how Athletes of Kenya sources, credits, and uses images and other visual media on the Site, and how to raise a concern about an image.Categories of images we use
Images on the Site may fall into more than one category, including:- Owned — created by or for AoK (for example, original photography or graphics commissioned for the Site);
- Licensed — used under a specific licence obtained from a rights holder or stock provider;
- Commissioned — created by a third party specifically for AoK under an agreement covering usage rights;
- Public domain — no longer subject to copyright, or never subject to it, in the relevant jurisdiction; and
- Creative Commons licensed — used under the terms of a specific Creative Commons (“CC”) licence.
Attribution practice (TASL)
Where attribution is required or good practice, we aim to credit images using the TASL convention — Title, Author, Source, Licence — for example, noting the image’s title (if any), its creator, where it came from, and under what licence or permission it is used. Where a source only supplies partial information (for example, no formal title), we credit what is available rather than omitting attribution altogether.Licence records
We aim to keep an internal record of the licence, permission, or provenance basis for each non-owned image used on the Site, including where it was obtained and any conditions attached to its use. This allows us to respond to a query about a specific image's status and to review our position if a licence changes or expires. We do not claim that a licence permits a particular use of an image without checking the specific version and terms of that licence first — licence terms vary between versions and providers, and are checked individually rather than assumed.Editing under Creative Commons and other licences
Some CC licences permit adaptation (cropping, colour correction, resizing) and some do not. Before editing a licensed image, we check whether the specific licence variant permits it, and if we do adapt an image under a licence that allows it, we note that it has been adapted in the credit where the licence requires this.We pay particular attention to the following licence conditions:- BY (Attribution) — credit must be given as required by the licence.
- SA (ShareAlike) — an adapted image must, in turn, be shared under the same or a compatible licence, which affects how and where we can use it.
- NC (NonCommercial) — because AoK operates, and intends to develop, commercial products and services (for example, in its Shop and Data Services sections), we normally avoid using NC-licensed material at all, unless a documented internal review has confirmed that the specific intended use is permitted under that licence’s terms.
- ND (NoDerivatives) — we do not crop, retouch, composite, or otherwise distribute an adapted version of an ND-licensed image; it is used exactly as published by the licensor. We assess purely technical changes (for example, file-format conversion or lossless compression for web delivery) against the exact wording of the licence before treating them as permitted, rather than assuming they fall outside “derivative” by default.
Public-domain provenance
Where we rely on an image being in the public domain, we aim to record why we believe that to be the case (for example, its age, its country and terms of original publication, or an explicit public-domain dedication by its creator), since public-domain status can vary by jurisdiction and is not always straightforward.Personality, privacy, trademark, and false-endorsement concerns
Even where we hold the copyright or licence needed to publish an image, copyright permission on its own does not necessarily resolve every concern. We separately consider whether its use could:- unreasonably invade the personal privacy of someone shown in it;
- suggest a false endorsement or association between a person and a product, service, or third party; or
- infringe a trademark or logo belonging to another organisation (for example, a sponsor or federation mark appearing incidentally in a photograph).
Archival image quality
Some historical images used on the Site are old, low-resolution, or otherwise imperfect, reflecting the limitations of the original source material rather than any editing choice by AoK. We do not misrepresent restored or enhanced archival images as an unaltered original where material restoration work has been done — see the disclosure section below.AI-generated and AI-edited images
Where an image, or part of an image, has been generated or materially altered using AI tools (for example, AI upscaling, AI colourisation of a historical photograph, or a wholly AI-generated illustration), we aim to disclose this where it is editorially relevant to the reader’s understanding of what they are looking at — in particular, we do not present an AI-generated or AI-substantially-altered image as an authentic, unaltered historical photograph.Disclosure of material alteration
Beyond AI-specific edits, we disclose material alteration of an image (for example, significant retouching, compositing, or restoration of a historical photograph) where the alteration could reasonably affect how a reader interprets the image’s authenticity or historical accuracy. Minor technical adjustments (for example, routine colour balancing, cropping for layout, or compression for web display) are not treated as material alterations requiring disclosure.Contributors
Where an image is contributed by an athlete, a family member, or another member of the public, we aim to confirm the contributor’s right to share it and the terms on which they are providing it before publishing it, and to credit the contributor as agreed.Takedown and contact process
If you believe an image on the Site infringes your rights, misattributes credit, was used without appropriate permission, or otherwise concerns you, contact hello@aok.co.ke with:
- a link to the page and image concerned;
- the basis of your concern (for example, ownership, licence, privacy, or attribution); and
- any supporting evidence (for example, proof of authorship or ownership).
We aim to acknowledge image-related concerns promptly and, in line with our Corrections Policy, review them on their individual facts. Where we accept a concern is well-founded, we will correct the credit, adjust the usage, or remove the image as appropriate, pending review.
Contact
- Email: hello@aok.co.ke
- Post: Athletes of Kenya, Coffee Garden Drive, Muthaiga North, Nairobi, Kenya