Takedown and Rights Complaints

If something on this site is yours and shouldn't be here, tell me and I'll deal with it. You don't need a lawyer to write to me and I'd rather you didn't have to.

What's on this site, and where it comes from

Some context, because it's usually the fastest way to sort a complaint out.

• The routes and the writing are mine. Every journey is my own reconstruction of where a story goes, plotted on real geography and described in my own words. The descriptions are original writing, not extracts. I don't reproduce text from any book. I don't publish quotations, passages, lyrics, or poems.
• Titles, authors, and characters are named to identify the work being discussed, as part of commentary and criticism.
• Cover images come from Open Library. Poster images come from TMDB. These are the pieces most likely to be somebody's property, and they're the pieces I can pull fastest.
• Map imagery is licensed from MapTiler.

Reading Maps isn't affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any author, publisher, studio, or estate.

Making a complaint

Email [email protected] with "Takedown" in the subject line, and include:

• What the material is - the exact page URL, and which part of it you mean (a cover image? a description? a whole route?).
• What right you say it infringes - copyright, trade mark, image rights, something else.
• Proof it's yours - enough for me to see that you own it or are authorised to act for whoever does.
• Your contact details - name, email, and the organisation you represent, if any.
• A statement that you believe in good faith that the use isn't authorised by the rights holder, their agent, or the law.
• A statement that the information in your notice is accurate, and that you're the rights holder or authorised to act on their behalf.
• Your signature - electronic is fine.

If you're not sure about any of that, send it anyway. I'd rather have an incomplete complaint I can act on than a perfect one you never sent.

What happens next

I'll acknowledge your email within 7 working days, and in most cases I'll act within 14 working days of receiving a complete notice.

If the complaint looks well-founded, or if I'm simply not sure, I'll usually take the material down first and work it out afterwards. Nothing here is worth a fight.

If I don't think the material infringes anything - for example, where a complaint is about my own original description of a book's journey, or about naming a title - I'll explain why rather than just refusing.

If your material was removed

If I've taken something down and you think I got it wrong, email me with the URL, what was removed, and why you believe it shouldn't have been. I'll take another look.

Abusive or bad-faith notices

Please don't send a takedown notice for material you don't have rights over, or to suppress criticism or discussion. Sending a false notice can carry legal consequences for you, and it wastes both our time.

Other complaints

Privacy: see the Privacy Policy.

Something inaccurate? That's not really a takedown, and I'd love to hear about it. Please just contact me - corrections are welcome and they're how this site gets better.

Something defamatory, or otherwise unlawful? Use the same address and tell me what's wrong and where.