Copyright & Content Policy
Business First — A division of Befirst Media Productions
Protecting Editorial Investment & Original Reporting
Business First creates and publishes original journalism, business news, analysis, interviews, photography, graphics, newsletters, podcasts, and multimedia.
1. INTRODUCTION
Business First creates and publishes original journalism, business news, analysis, interviews, articles, videos, photographs, graphics, newsletters, podcasts, reports, social media content and other editorial and commercial media.
The purpose of this Copyright & Content Licensing Policy is to explain how Business First content may and may not be used, copied, shared, reproduced, republished, licensed, distributed or commercially exploited.
Business First supports the responsible sharing of credible journalism. At the same time, the investment involved in creating original reporting, editorial content, photography, design and multimedia must be respected.
Unless otherwise stated, original content published by Business First is protected by applicable intellectual property laws and may not be reproduced or commercially exploited without appropriate permission.
2. OWNERSHIP OF BUSINESS FIRST CONTENT
Unless expressly stated otherwise, copyright and other intellectual property rights in original Business First content are owned by or lawfully licensed to:
This includes:
All rights are reserved unless Business First expressly grants permission otherwise.
3. BUSINESS FIRST BRANDING
The name Business First, its logo, visual identity, design system, slogans, programme names, publication names and other distinctive brand elements (such as News That Means Business and 1-Minute Read) constitute protected trademarks, trade names, and proprietary intellectual property.
Business First branding must not be used in a manner that:
- suggests endorsement or partnership where none exists;
- misrepresents affiliation or creates audience confusion;
- damages or disparages the brand; or
- falsely implies that Business First produced third-party content.
4. READING AND PERSONAL USE
Business First content may generally be accessed and read for legitimate personal and internal informational purposes, subject to our Terms & Conditions. Users may read articles, bookmark pages, share article links, and discuss content.
Access to content does not transfer ownership or grant a general right to copy, republish or commercially exploit it.
5. SHARING BUSINESS FIRST ARTICLES
We encourage readers to share links to Business First journalism. You may freely share the article URL, the Business First headline, a brief description written in your own words, and official posts via social sharing tools.
Sharing a link is different from republishing the article. Users should direct audiences to the original Business First publication.
6. QUOTING BUSINESS FIRST CONTENT
Limited quotations are permissible where allowed by applicable law and subject to appropriate attribution. Any quotation should:
- be reasonably limited to what is necessary;
- accurately reflect the original meaning;
- identify Business First as the source (“According to Business First…”);
- include a direct hyperlink to the original article; and
- not substitute for reading the original article.
7. WHAT IS NOT PERMITTED WITHOUT AUTHORISATION
Except where authorised in writing, users must not:
8. REPUBLICATION
Republishing Business First content requires prior written permission. Businesses, publishers, news aggregators and educational institutions seeking republication should contact:
licensing@businessfirstuae.com
No licence should be assumed unless Business First confirms it in writing.
9. CONTENT LICENSING
Business First licenses selected content assets including individual articles, article packages, news feeds, newsletters, special reports, video, photography, infographics, podcasts, and market summaries.
Licensing may be structured as single-use, multiple-use, time-limited, territory-limited, platform-specific, exclusive, or non-exclusive based on individual agreement.
10. CORPORATE CONTENT LICENSING
Companies may request permission to reuse Business First coverage on corporate websites, investor relations portals, annual reports, presentations, and media centres.
Publication by Business First does not automatically give the company featured in an article ownership of that article.
11. INTERNAL CORPORATE USE
We offer licences allowing organisations to circulate selected content internally among staff. An internal licence does not permit public website republication, commercial resale, or client redistribution.
12. MEDIA SYNDICATION
Business First enters into syndication agreements with regional and international publishers. Syndicated content must carry agreed Business First attribution and may not be materially altered without authorization.
13. TRANSLATION RIGHTS
Translation of Business First content for republication requires express permission, must preserve original meaning, identify Business First as original publisher, and may require pre-publication review.
14. SOCIAL MEDIA USE
Users may reshare Business First posts using native platform tools. Businesses must not download graphics, remove our branding, or systematically repost social creatives into their own channels without a licence.
15. PHOTOGRAPHS
Photographs on Business First originate from staff photographers, wire agencies, company submissions, and licensed libraries. Appearance on our site does not imply sublicensing rights. Permission must be requested per image.
16. COMPANY-SUPPLIED PHOTOGRAPHS
Submitting parties warrant that they possess all requisite rights to supply logos, imagery, and video for publication. The supplier remains responsible for securing third-party intellectual property and personality rights.
17. VIDEO AND AUDIO CONTENT
Video and podcast content may not be downloaded, ripped, re-edited, or re-uploaded. Embedding via official player embeds is permitted subject to platform rules.
18. INTERVIEWS
Business First owns copyright in the recording, editing, and published presentation of produced interviews. Interviewees may share article links, but do not automatically acquire rights to re-edit or commercialize the production.
19. INFOGRAPHICS, CHARTS AND DATA VISUALISATIONS
Original data visualisations, selections, layouts, and designs are protected. They may not be reproduced merely because underlying statistical data is publicly available.
20. DATABASES AND CONTENT COLLECTIONS
Structured archives, market trackers, and article compilations are protected databases. Automated extraction intended to recreate competing databases or commercial archives is strictly prohibited.
21. AUTOMATED SCRAPING
Business First does not grant permission for unrestricted automated scraping. Automated systems must not crawl for content extraction, scrape articles, harvest databases, download bulk archives, or bypass technical rate limits.
22. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND MACHINE LEARNING
Prohibition on Unauthorised AI Ingestion:
Unless specifically authorised in writing, Business First content may not be collected, mined, or reproduced for building commercial AI datasets, training machine-learning models, fine-tuning LLMs, constructing retrieval databases, or generating competing automated news services.
Organisations seeking commercial AI licensing should contact licensing@businessfirstuae.com.
23. SEARCH ENGINES AND DISCOVERY SERVICES
Recognised search engines may index website content in accordance with standard robots protocols. Indexing does not grant rights to create commercial copies of our archive or sublicense material.
24. NEWS AGGREGATORS
Aggregators displaying content beyond basic headlines and brief excerpts must obtain licensing agreements. We reserve the right to restrict access to services that substitute for visits to the original article.
25. EDUCATIONAL USE
Educational institutions and students may cite and quote Business First content under statutory fair dealing rules. Extensive reproduction in course packets or paid training programmes requires permission.
26. RESEARCH USE
Researchers may cite articles following standard academic conventions. Large-scale dataset or archival access must be discussed with our licensing desk.
27. PRESENTATIONS AND REPORTS
Limited quotations may be used in internal reports with attribution. Reproducing complete graphics, photos, or articles in external corporate reports requires a content licence.
28. GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC-SECTOR USE
Public sector entities seeking reproduction should contact Business First. Copyright in our original journalistic treatment remains separate from underlying public facts or legislation.
29. PRESS RELEASES PUBLISHED BY BUSINESS FIRST
Where Business First edits, rewrites, conducts interviews, adds analysis, or creates graphics based on a corporate release, Business First holds copyright in its original contribution.
30. SPONSORED CONTENT
Payment for sponsored content provides agreed usage rights (such as reprints or social sharing), but does not automatically transfer copyright ownership unless expressly assigned in writing.
31. CLIENT-CREATED ADVERTISEMENTS
Copyright in client-supplied advertising remains with the client. The client grants Business First rights to publish, display, resize, and distribute the materials to execute the campaign.
32. BUSINESS FIRST-CREATED ADVERTISEMENTS
Creative assets produced by Business First (artwork, videos, scripts) remain our intellectual property, licensed to the client for agreed campaign purposes. Working files and raw footage are not included unless contracted.
33. CONTRIBUTORS
Contributors represent that they possess rights to all submitted material. Contributor rights (exclusive, syndication, archival) are governed by written contributor agreements. Plagiarised submissions are strictly prohibited.
34. FREELANCE JOURNALISTS, PHOTOGRAPHERS AND PRODUCERS
Commissioned freelance rights are established in individual commissioning contracts, granting Business First necessary publication, archival, syndication, and licensing rights.
35. THIRD-PARTY CONTENT
Third-party content licensed by Business First carries copyright notices. Third-party material must not be reused merely because it appears on Business First.
36. GOVERNMENT MATERIAL
We quote official announcements and statistics. Users wishing to reuse official material should consult the originating entity's terms. We do not claim ownership of underlying public facts.
37. ATTRIBUTION DOES NOT REPLACE PERMISSION
The statement “Credit: Business First” does not substitute for obtaining permission where required by law.
38. EDITING LICENSED CONTENT
Licensees must not alter content in ways that change its meaning, introduce errors, distort quotes, or damage the integrity of the work.
39. REQUIRED ATTRIBUTION
Unless otherwise agreed, licensed written content must carry attribution substantially similar to:
40. REMOVING COPYRIGHT NOTICES
Users must not intentionally remove copyright notices, watermarks, photographer credits, or digital rights management identifiers from Business First content.
41. LICENSING FEES
Licensing fees depend on content type, intended use, commercial nature, audience size, territory, duration, and exclusivity. Rate schedules are provided upon enquiry.
42. COMMERCIAL LICENCE CATEGORIES
43. LICENCE DOES NOT TRANSFER OWNERSHIP
A licence grants specified usage rights only. Business First retains ownership of the underlying intellectual property. Rights cannot be sublicensed without consent.
44–46. DURATION, TERRITORY AND EXCLUSIVITY
Licences may be time-limited, annual, or perpetual for specified uses. Geographical scope defaults to non-exclusive unless explicitly agreed in writing. Worldwide rights should not be assumed unless stated.
47. COPYRIGHT COMPLAINTS
If you believe material on Business First infringes your copyright, please contact our legal desk:
Please provide your name, protected work details, the infringing URL, proof of ownership, and requested remedy.
48. COPYRIGHT TAKEDOWN REVIEW
Upon receipt of a credible complaint, we review disputed material, temporarily restrict access where appropriate, request supplier evidence, and take prompt remedial action if infringement is substantiated.
49–50. INFRINGEMENT AND ENFORCEMENT
Where unauthorised use occurs, Business First requests cessation, retrospective licensing, and applicable compensation.
In cases of repeat or systematic infringement, Business First reserves all statutory remedies, technical blocking, and legal actions under UAE copyright law.
51–53. LINKS, ARCHIVING & MORAL RIGHTS
Direct links to articles are welcomed. Framing our site inside third-party interfaces is prohibited.
Author attribution and moral rights remain protected. Content must never be falsely attributed.
54. APPLICABLE UAE LAW
This Policy operates in full accordance with applicable UAE intellectual property legislation:
55–56. POLICY RELATIONSHIP & UPDATES
This Policy should be read alongside our Terms & Conditions, Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy, Disclaimer, and Editorial Policy. Updates will be published with a revised revision date.
57. CONTENT LICENSING CONTACT
A division of Befirst Media Productions
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Website: businessfirstuae.com
Content Licensing: licensing@businessfirstuae.com
Copyright Complaints: legal@businessfirstuae.com
Editorial Desk: editorial@businessfirstuae.com
General Enquiries: info@businessfirstuae.com
COPYRIGHT NOTICE
© 2026 Business First / Befirst Media Productions. All rights reserved. Unless otherwise stated, Business First content may not be reproduced, republished, distributed, modified, commercially exploited or systematically extracted without prior written permission, except to the extent permitted by applicable law.
You are welcome to share our journalism. Please share the link — not the article.
Business First — News That Means Business.