Using Our Maps

PolGeoNow Control Maps holds the copyright to most maps displayed on this website. In general, we require you to get permission from us before publishing or posting our maps anywhere else – this is a necessity for continuing to create new work, because if our maps could be shared and reproduced freely, we wouldn’t be able to make any money from subscriptions or licenses. However, there are some exceptions, outlined below:

Classroom Use

At PolGeoNow we believe that copyright should not forbid the limited re-use of content in a classroom setting. If you are a teacher or other educator, you automatically have our permission to use any map created by PolGeoNow Control Maps in your classroom or curriculum, provided that (1) it is clearly credited with our URL “www.polgeonow.com” or “https://controlmaps.polgeonow.com”, including a clickable link to our website when possible, and (2) you are not posting it on a website accessible to the general public. This does not apply to commercial distribution of our maps to multiple classrooms, in which case you are subject to the requirements outlined farther down on this page.

Students may also use our maps in their coursework and assignments, as long as the work is not being posted on a public website or otherwise published for a broader audience, and as long as they credit it to “www.polgeonow.com” or “https://controlmaps.polgeonow.com” (please include a clickable link to our website when possible). Graduate students wanting to use our maps in formal academic publications are not included in this group, and must first contact us for permission, unless the map is labeled with a free use license as outlined below.

Non-classroom Use

To find out the usage rights for a particular graphic, check the caption underneath it. You’ll usually find one of these designations:

“All rights reserved” or “Contact us to use this map”

These maps are copyrighted works of PolGeoNow. We might let you use one of them, but you need to email us and get permission first.

CC BY-SA

Maps or graphics with this designation can be used for free under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license. You can use these ones for free, even commercially, as long as you properly credit them. This means mentioning our site and including a link to www.polgeonow.com or controlmaps.polgeonow.com. You should also include a link to the CC BY-SA license, and mention the name of the original author(s) as indicated in the caption (most of these are built from blank maps created by other people). This license is mostly found on the older maps in our collection.

CC BY-NC-SA

These maps are available for use under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike license. You’re free to use these ones without our permission for non-commercial purposes, as long as you properly credit them. This means mentioning our site and including a link to www.polgeonow.com or controlmaps.polgeonow.com. You should also include a link to the CC BY-NC-SA license so others know they can use it too.

Public domain

A graphic labeled as “public domain” can be used any way you want, because it isn’t copyrighted at all. You don’t even have to credit to us – most of these are things like country flags that we didn’t make anyway – though it never hurts to mention your source!

No label in the caption?

If a map does NOT include any other license terms in the caption, you should assume you need our permission to use it. You can email us for more information or to request permission.

If you still have questions about using our maps, just send us an email and we’ll be happy to help!