When I’m writing articles about entertainment and media, which is the bulk of what I discuss on Trekking with Dennis, using a still frame from a film or television episode, or a screenshot from a game, can enhance the piece and give more information and context to the reader. As such, I use still frames and screenshots regularly.
I also use, on occasion, selected quotations from published works, including films, television series, games, and novels.
In the United Kingdom, where Trekking with Dennis is based, these images and quotations are covered under the legal principle known as “fair dealing” – a related concept to the American “fair use”. Specifically, still frames and screenshots are covered under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, which allows for the use of such material for the purposes of review, criticism, reporting, and education. The full text of the relevant legislation may be found by clicking or tapping here (warning – this leads to an external site).
Unless otherwise stated, all still frames are captured by me, using a media player on my PC, directly from DVD, Blu-Ray, or streaming platforms. This applies to all films and television series. The images may be cropped and reduced in size to be more relevant to the article and to save on storage space.
For video games I will sometimes rely on press kits from sources such as IGDB. Most screenshots (for modern titles, in any case), as well as promotional artwork, are provided by the games companies themselves. Other screenshots may be captured by me on my PC, or may be sourced via the web. Unedited screenshots of video games are considered the copyright of the game’s publisher and/or developer, not of the individual who took the screenshot. I will try to remember to cite and link back to the source of screenshots – but this is not a legal obligation.
There are also times where it will be necessary for me to use stock images. These are primarily sourced from Unsplash and Wikimedia Commons, and will be cited as required under the terms of their respective licenses.
Occasionally I will use photos or screen captures of websites. These will be cited as required (by saying “Picture Credit:” followed by the author’s name(s)) and if seems as though the owner does not want an image circulated, or I cannot verify that it is covered by the above “fair dealing”/”fair use” principles then I will not use it.
I may also choose to embed YouTube videos on occasion, where I feel the video would add necessary context to an article. This is most likely to be the case for trailers and other official material rather than works by independent YouTubers. These videos are not hosted here on Trekking with Dennis, they are merely embedded – i.e. linked to; the videos are hosted by YouTube.
With very few exceptions (such as logos and headers created explicitly for Trekking with Dennis) screenshots and still frames published on the website are not owned by me. You are thus free to use any such content that you find here – for example: still frames from films and television shows, screenshots from video games, posters, promotional artwork, and marketing material – in your own projects. However, you are solely responsible for doing so and ensuring that your work does not violate someone else’s copyright.
If you’ve found an image of yours here on Trekking with Dennis and you do not want it to be used, please click or tap here to contact me and provide proof of ownership. I cannot guarantee that images that are acceptable under the aforementioned “fair dealing” or “fair use” principles will be removed.
All articles published here should themselves be considered the copyright of Trekking with Dennis and myself as the owner of the website. That said, I am happy for you to use anything you find here as part of your own project(s), both non-commercial and commercial in nature, under the “share-alike” principle. In summary, all I ask is that you cite any quotations and provide a link somewhere in your project to this website. If you’d like to discuss this matter further, you can get in touch using this contact form.
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