Collective Aid Charitable Foundation, Collective Aid and the International Collaborative Framework of Collective Aid

The Collective Aid Charitable Foundation
Registered charity in England and Wales: 1206028

Effective date: 2 September 2026
Last updated: 2 September 2026

1. Purpose

This Copyright & Intellectual Property Policy establishes the ownership, protection and permitted use of intellectual property associated with Collective Aid Charitable Foundation, Collective Aid, and the International Collaborative Framework of Collective Aid (ICFCA). For the purposes of this Policy, these names may refer to the organisation, its programmes, projects, activities, publications, campaigns and associated materials as described below. This Policy applies to all content published, commissioned, created, acquired, licensed or otherwise controlled by Collective Aid, including material published through websites, social media, fundraising platforms, publications, reports, merchandise, events and other communications channels.

2. The Collective Aid structure

Collective Aid Charitable Foundation (CACF) is a charitable incorporated organisation registered in the United Kingdom under charity number 1206028. The International Collaborative Framework of Collective Aid (ICFCA) is the collective framework comprising the programmes and projects operating under the Collective Aid structure and for which CACF has ultimate governance responsibility. The Constitution of CACF provides that the ICFCA refers to the combined group of programmes and projects currently registered as Collective Aid charities, and that CACF is ultimately responsible for governing the ICFCA. Accordingly, references on this website or in our materials to:

  • Collective Aid;

  • Collective Aid Charitable Foundation;

  • CACF;

  • International Collaborative Framework of Collective Aid;

  • ICFCA;

  • Collective Aid programmes;

  • Collective Aid projects; or

  • any Collective Aid programme, project, campaign or operational activity,

should not be interpreted as granting any person an independent right to reproduce, commercially exploit or otherwise use Collective Aid intellectual property. Unless a particular work expressly states otherwise, intellectual property produced centrally by Collective Aid or produced in the course of activities undertaken under the governance, direction, commissioning or authority of CACF is protected by this Policy.

3. Copyright ownership

Unless otherwise stated, copyright in original material published by Collective Aid is owned by Collective Aid Charitable Foundation, or is used by Collective Aid under an appropriate licence, permission or other lawful basis. This includes, without limitation:

  • written content;

  • articles;

  • reports;

  • research;

  • investigations;

  • publications;

  • policy documents;

  • methodologies;

  • educational materials;

  • training materials;

  • presentations;

  • graphics;

  • illustrations;

  • photographs;

  • videos;

  • audio recordings;

  • campaign materials;

  • fundraising materials;

  • website content;

  • digital content;

  • social media content;

  • newsletters;

  • databases and compilations;

  • original datasets where copyright subsists;

  • infographics;

  • maps;

  • designs;

  • merchandise designs;

  • logos;

  • visual identities;

  • campaign identities;

  • slogans and creative materials;

  • software or other original digital materials; and

  • other original works created or commissioned by Collective Aid.

Where copyright or another intellectual property right belongs to a third party, that right remains with the relevant rights holder.

4. Collective Aid name, logos and branding

The names Collective Aid, Collective Aid Charitable Foundation, International Collaborative Framework of Collective Aid, ICFCA, and associated programme, campaign and project names may be protected by intellectual property, passing-off or other applicable rights. Our logos, wordmarks, visual identities, graphic devices, campaign identities and other distinctive branding are protected and may not be reproduced or used in a manner that suggests unauthorised endorsement, affiliation or representation. Nothing in this Policy grants a licence to use any Collective Aid trade mark, logo, name or branding.

5. Materials produced by Collective Aid programmes and projects

Collective Aid operates through an international framework of programmes and projects. Materials produced by a Collective Aid programme or project in the course of its authorised activities may form part of the wider Collective Aid intellectual property portfolio. This includes material produced for:

  • humanitarian programmes;

  • community activities;

  • research;

  • monitoring;

  • advocacy;

  • human rights observation;

  • fundraising;

  • communications;

  • campaigns;

  • programme reporting;

  • needs assessments;

  • evaluations;

  • training;

  • educational activities; and

  • other authorised Collective Aid activities.

The fact that material identifies an individual programme, country, project, office, campaign or team does not by itself mean that the material is outside the protection of this Policy.

6. Contractor, volunteer and employee-created material

Where contractors, consultants, volunteers, trustees, employees, or other representatives create material in the course of their authorised work for Collective Aid, ownership and permitted use of that material will be determined by the applicable employment contract, consultancy agreement, volunteer agreement, trustee agreement, commissioning arrangement or other relevant agreement, together with applicable law. Where rights are assigned or otherwise vest in Collective Aid, Collective Aid may reproduce, modify, publish, archive, distribute and otherwise use the relevant material for its charitable purposes. Where a creator retains particular rights, Collective Aid will respect those rights and any applicable licence or contractual restrictions.

7. Commissioned material

Where Collective Aid commissions photographs, videos, designs, written material, research, software, consultancy work or other creative output from an external person or organisation, intellectual property ownership will be governed by the relevant agreement. Where the agreement assigns intellectual property to Collective Aid, Collective Aid will hold and manage those rights. Where the agreement instead grants Collective Aid a licence, the material may only be used within the scope of that licence.

8. Third-party material

Not all material appearing on Collective Aid platforms is necessarily owned by Collective Aid. Some material may be:

  • licensed from third parties;

  • supplied by partner organisations;

  • supplied by photographers or videographers;

  • reproduced with permission;

  • subject to Creative Commons or another licence;

  • supplied by supporters or volunteers; or

  • otherwise subject to rights belonging to another person or organisation.

Where a specific copyright notice, credit, attribution or licence accompanies material, that notice takes precedence over this general Policy. No permission granted by this Policy extends to third-party material beyond the rights Collective Aid itself possesses.

9. Photographs, videos and recordings

Photographs, videos and other recordings published by Collective Aid may be protected by copyright and may also contain personal information or other rights belonging to individuals depicted or recorded. The publication of an image or recording on a Collective Aid platform does not mean that it is freely available for unrestricted reproduction. You must not:

  • download and commercially exploit Collective Aid photographs;

  • remove photographer or copyright attribution;

  • manipulate material in a misleading or defamatory manner;

  • use material to imply endorsement by Collective Aid;

  • use images of service users for unrelated purposes; or

  • otherwise use photographic or video material in a manner inconsistent with applicable copyright, privacy, safeguarding or other legal requirements.

Particular care must be taken with material involving displaced persons, refugees, migrants, people on the move, children, survivors of violence and other potentially vulnerable people.

10. Research, reports and publications

Collective Aid publishes research, investigations, reports and other materials in furtherance of its charitable objectives. We support responsible dissemination of this work. Unless a publication states otherwise, you may:

  • quote reasonable extracts;

  • reference our findings;

  • link to our publications;

  • cite our research;

  • use reasonable extracts for journalism, academic research, education, advocacy or other legitimate non-commercial purposes; and

  • share links to publicly available Collective Aid publications.

Any such use must:

  • accurately identify Collective Aid as the source;

  • accurately represent the original material;

  • not materially distort or misrepresent our findings;

  • not remove relevant qualifications or context in a misleading way; and

  • not imply that Collective Aid endorses the user's work, position or organisation where it does not.

Substantial reproduction or republication of an entire report or publication requires permission unless otherwise expressly permitted by the applicable licence or by law.

11. Data, statistics and factual information

Copyright does not necessarily protect facts, ideas or information themselves. However, the original presentation, selection, arrangement, analysis and expression of information may be protected by copyright or other intellectual property rights. Where Collective Aid publishes statistics, datasets, research findings or other factual information, you must not represent Collective Aid's analysis, research, methodology or findings as your own work. Where you use Collective Aid research or data, we request clear attribution to the relevant Collective Aid publication or programme. Where a particular dataset or publication is released under a specific licence, that licence governs its use.

12. Permitted non-commercial use

Unless otherwise stated, Collective Aid permits reasonable non-commercial use of publicly available material for legitimate purposes including:

  • education;

  • journalism;

  • academic research;

  • advocacy;

  • humanitarian coordination;

  • public-interest research;

  • commentary;

  • personal use; and

  • responsible fundraising or awareness-raising.

Such use must not:

  • misrepresent Collective Aid;

  • imply endorsement;

  • alter material in a misleading manner;

  • remove attribution;

  • infringe the rights of people represented in the material;

  • create safeguarding or security risks; or

  • otherwise breach applicable law.

13. Commercial use

Commercial reproduction, publication, distribution, licensing, resale or exploitation of Collective Aid material requires prior written permission unless expressly permitted by a specific licence. This includes using Collective Aid:

  • reports;

  • photographs;

  • videos;

  • graphics;

  • logos;

  • campaign materials;

  • research;

  • merchandise designs;

  • publications; or

  • other protected material

For commercial advertising, marketing, products, services or other commercial activity. Requests for commercial licensing should be sent via our contact page.

14. Use of Collective Aid branding

You may identify Collective Aid as the source of material where appropriate. However, you must not use the Collective Aid name, logo or branding in a way that suggests:

  • you are an official representative of Collective Aid when you are not;

  • Collective Aid endorses your organisation, product, service or position;

  • you have a formal partnership with Collective Aid when none exists;

  • Collective Aid has approved your campaign or publication when it has not; or

  • your activity is operated by Collective Aid when it is not.

Fundraisers may state accurately that they are fundraising for Collective Aid, subject to any applicable fundraising requirements.

15. Linking and sharing

Collective Aid encourages people to share links to our publicly available website pages, reports and publications. You may link directly to our publicly available content provided that the link:

  • is lawful;

  • is not misleading;

  • does not imply endorsement or affiliation;

  • does not reproduce our content in a way that obscures its source; and

  • does not create an inaccurate impression about Collective Aid.

16. User-submitted content

Supporters, volunteers, partners and members of the public may submit photographs, videos, stories, testimonials, artwork, written content and other material to Collective Aid. Submitting material does not necessarily transfer ownership of that material to Collective Aid. However, by submitting material, you confirm that:

  • you have the necessary rights and permissions to submit it;

  • you have not knowingly infringed another person's intellectual property rights;

  • where relevant, you have obtained appropriate consent from people appearing in the material; and

  • Collective Aid may use the material for the purpose for which it was submitted and in accordance with any applicable agreement or consent.

Where a separate agreement, consent form or licence applies, that document governs the relevant use.

17. Moral rights and attribution

Where applicable, Collective Aid will respect the moral rights of creators and other rights holders. Where a creator or rights holder is entitled to attribution, Collective Aid will provide appropriate attribution subject to the circumstances and applicable law. Similarly, where Collective Aid material is reproduced by a third party, appropriate attribution should be provided.

18. No implied licence

Except for the limited permissions expressly granted by this Policy or by applicable law, no licence or other right is granted to use Collective Aid intellectual property. In particular, accessing, viewing, downloading or sharing material from a Collective Aid website does not transfer ownership of that material.

19. Intellectual property infringement

If you believe that material published by Collective Aid infringes your copyright or another intellectual property right, please contact us. Your notification should include:

  • your name and contact details;

  • identification of the relevant intellectual property;

  • evidence or explanation of your ownership or authority;

  • identification of the allegedly infringing material;

  • the location of the material;

  • an explanation of the alleged infringement; and

  • any other information reasonably necessary for us to investigate.

We will review credible complaints and may remove, amend, attribute or otherwise address material where appropriate.

20. Unauthorised use of Collective Aid material

Where we identify unauthorised reproduction, commercial exploitation, misleading use or other infringement of Collective Aid intellectual property, we reserve the right to take appropriate action. Depending on the circumstances, this may include:

  • requesting removal or correction;

  • requesting appropriate attribution;

  • withdrawing permission;

  • contacting a hosting or platform provider;

  • seeking an appropriate licence or agreement;

  • pursuing available legal remedies; or

  • taking any other action available to us under applicable law.

21. No waiver of rights

Failure by Collective Aid to enforce any intellectual property right or provision of this Policy on one occasion does not constitute a waiver of that right or provision. We reserve all rights available to us under applicable law.

22. Relationship with other policies

This Policy should be read alongside:

  • our Terms of Service;

  • our Privacy Policy;

  • our Refund, Cancellation and Returns Policy;

  • applicable fundraising terms;

  • applicable contracting arrangements, consultancy arrangements, code of conduct and volunteer agreements;

  • specific publication or dataset licences; and

  • any specific copyright or licensing notice attached to particular material.

Where a specific licence or contractual agreement expressly provides different intellectual property terms for particular material, those specific terms will govern that material.

23. Changes to this Policy

Collective Aid may update this Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our activities, intellectual property portfolio, legal requirements, organisational structure or operational practices. The most recent version will be published on our website with the applicable effective date.

24. Contact

For copyright, licensing, intellectual property or permissions enquiries, contact:

Collective Aid Charitable Foundation
Registered charity in England and Wales: 1206028
Contact available on our contact page.

Last updated: 2 September 2026