Last updated: September 2026
This page explains the copyright, ownership, permissions and licensing position applying to creative work by James Cole and material published through James Cole Creative and associated projects.
If you arrived here through copyright metadata embedded in an image or other file, that material has not been released into the public domain. The presence of this URL does not grant permission to reproduce, republish, modify, distribute or otherwise reuse the material.
Copyright Owner
Unless otherwise stated, copyright in original works identified as being created by James Cole is owned personally by:
James Cole
Trading as James Cole Creative
Australia
James Cole Creative is a business name operated by James Cole as a sole trader. It is not a separate copyright owner.
Copyright protection applies automatically to qualifying original works. A copyright notice is provided to identify the copyright owner and communicate the permissions granted for use of the material.
Works Covered
This notice applies to original copyright material created by James Cole, including, where applicable:
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writing, articles, stories, poetry and scripts
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books and other publications
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photographs
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digital artwork and illustration
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graphic designs
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logos and original visual branding
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product and packaging artwork
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music and musical compositions
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lyrics
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sound recordings
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spoken-word recordings
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films and videos
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animations
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thumbnails and cover artwork
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website content
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social media content
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merchandise artwork and designs
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digital products
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other original creative material
It includes works published under James Cole Creative and associated projects, including:
Bird Couldn’t Be Bothered
Seven Shades of Nothing
Empowering Meditations
Solo Systems Foundry
JC Daydream
Touched by J.C.
Between the Shadows
The Illusion of Intelligence
Empowering Thoughts
Lost: Black Earth
It also applies to other past, present and future creative works by James Cole where he owns the relevant copyright, whether or not a particular project or work is specifically listed on this page.
What You May Do
Unless a particular work is supplied under different licence terms, you may:
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view or listen to material through the website, platform or service where it has been published
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link to the original webpage, video, post, product or other authorised source
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use normal sharing functions provided by the website or platform, such as a platform’s built-in Share function
Nothing in these permissions grants ownership of the material or copyright in it.
What Requires Permission
Unless permitted by applicable law or an existing licence, you must obtain written permission before:
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copying or reproducing material
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downloading material for republication or redistribution
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reposting photographs, artwork, writing or other material
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publishing material on another website, social media account, publication or platform
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modifying or adapting protected material
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using material commercially
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using artwork or designs on merchandise or other products
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reproducing substantial portions of written material
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reproducing, distributing, broadcasting or publicly using music, sound recordings, films or videos
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removing, obscuring or altering copyright information or identifying metadata
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presenting material in a way that falsely suggests authorship, endorsement, affiliation or permission
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incorporating protected material into advertising, promotional material, publications, products, databases or other media
Attribution alone does not constitute permission.
The fact that material is publicly accessible, downloadable, shareable or discoverable online does not by itself grant permission to reproduce, republish or otherwise use it.
Redbubble, Fourthwall, Products and Downloaded Images
Some artwork and designs by James Cole are offered on products through third-party platforms and services including Redbubble and Fourthwall.
James Cole retains copyright and other applicable intellectual property rights in his original artwork and designs, subject to the licences granted to those platforms under their respective terms and any other applicable rights.
The purchase or possession of a physical or digital product does not transfer copyright in the artwork, design, photograph or other creative material reproduced on that product.
Where this page is identified in copyright metadata embedded in an image downloaded or obtained from Redbubble, Fourthwall or another authorised service, the presence of this URL identifies the copyright and permissions information associated with the work.
If you arrived at this page through copyright metadata embedded in an image or other file, that material has not been released into the public domain. The presence of this URL does not grant permission to reproduce, republish, modify, distribute or otherwise reuse the material.
Possession of an image or other digital file does not itself grant permission to reproduce, publish, modify, distribute, sell or commercially exploit the work.
Redbubble, Fourthwall and other authorised services may hold limited rights to use James Cole’s material under the agreements governing those services. Those platform-specific rights do not transfer ownership of James Cole’s copyright to the platform or to customers using the platform.
Any rights separately granted to a customer or other person under an authorised platform’s applicable licence or terms remain subject to those terms.
Photography and Artwork
Unless otherwise identified, photographs published as the work of James Cole were photographed by James Cole.
Original digital artwork and illustrations may be created entirely within applications such as Adobe Photoshop or constructed using James Cole’s own original photography.
Some photographs may also be available through authorised stock photography or licensing services. Where a photograph has been obtained under a valid licence from one of those services, the rights granted to the licensee are governed by that licence.
Music and Seven Shades of Nothing
The original music, lyrics, compositions and sound recordings released by Seven Shades of Nothing are created and owned by James Cole unless expressly stated otherwise.
Distribution of music through streaming services, music platforms or distributors does not transfer James Cole’s underlying copyright except to the extent expressly provided by an applicable agreement or licence.
Some cover artwork associated with Seven Shades of Nothing incorporates AI-assisted visual elements within concepts, compositions and finished designs developed and assembled by James Cole.
Empowering Meditations
Original meditation scripts, recordings, music and other human-created material published through Empowering Meditations are created and owned by James Cole.
Some visual artwork and thumbnails incorporate AI-assisted elements developed through creative direction, iterative generation, selection, composition and, where applicable, further editing by James Cole.
Bird Couldn’t Be Bothered
Bird Couldn’t Be Bothered originated as an original written character concept created by James Cole.
Visual representations of Bird are developed through detailed creative direction, iterative AI-assisted generation, selection and refinement by James Cole. Some finished designs also contain additional manual design and Photoshop work.
James Cole claims copyright in his original human-authored material and other elements protected by applicable copyright law.
No claim is made to exclusive copyright in material that applicable law determines does not qualify for copyright protection merely because artificial intelligence was involved in its creation.
The Illusion of Intelligence
The Illusion of Intelligence originated from an original concept and written material by James Cole.
The manuscript was developed through a collaborative process involving James Cole, ChatGPT and Claude. James Cole established the subject matter, arguments, structure, tone and voice, supplied written material and chapter direction, and repeatedly rewrote, edited, selected and refined generated drafts to create the finished manuscript.
James Cole claims copyright in his original human-authored contributions, revisions, selection, arrangement and other elements protected by applicable copyright law.
The cover artwork was similarly developed through a combination of James Cole’s creative direction, design decisions and work with AI-generated elements.
Solo Systems Foundry
Solo Systems Foundry develops written and digital products from concepts, direction and material created by James Cole, with AI-assisted drafting, editing and development used in parts of the production process.
The Solo Systems Foundry logo is an original work created by James Cole.
Copyright is claimed in James Cole’s original human-authored material, artwork, selection, arrangement, revisions and other protectable elements.
Copyright is not claimed merely in an underlying idea, concept or method, or in material that applicable law determines does not qualify for copyright protection.
Between the Shadows
Between the Shadows is a storytelling project created by James Cole.
The original story concepts were created by James Cole. Scripts were developed through an iterative process involving James Cole and AI-assisted drafting and refinement. James Cole recorded and performed the finished stories.
Visual artwork and thumbnails have included AI-generated material created under James Cole’s creative direction.
Some existing episodes contain licensed stock music. Copyright in that music remains with its respective rights holders and its use is governed by the applicable licence.
Future productions may incorporate AI-assisted or AI-generated music or other material. Rights in such material will depend on the applicable law and licence terms applying to that material.
Lost: Black Earth and Other Film Work
James Cole owns the copyright interests applicable to Lost: Black Earth, with contributor rights addressed through contractual arrangements.
Other film and video works created by James Cole are covered by this notice where James Cole owns the relevant copyright.
Where a particular production contains material owned by another party, that material remains subject to the rights of its respective owner.
Empowering Thoughts
Empowering Thoughts is an original work written and created by James Cole.
Copyright in the book and James Cole’s original associated creative material is owned by James Cole.
JC Daydream
JC Daydream is a travel project established by James Cole in 2009.
Original writing, photography and other creative material produced by James Cole for JC Daydream is owned by James Cole.
Touched by J.C.
Touched by J.C. is a developing product project by James Cole.
Original logo artwork, packaging artwork and other original creative designs produced by James Cole are owned by James Cole.
Copyright in creative material is separate from any rights that may exist in the project or product name itself.
AI-Assisted Material
James Cole uses artificial intelligence as a creative tool in some projects.
The degree of AI involvement varies. It may include drafting, visual generation, refinement, experimentation or other assistance within a larger creative process directed, selected, edited or assembled by James Cole.
Copyright is claimed only to the extent supported by applicable law.
Nothing on this page is intended to claim copyright merely over an idea, prompt, unprotected AI output or other material that does not qualify for copyright protection.
This distinction does not grant permission to extract or reuse protected human-created elements contained within a larger AI-assisted work.
The legal treatment of AI-assisted and AI-generated material continues to develop. This notice should be read in accordance with the law applicable at the time a particular use occurs.
Third-Party and Licensed Material
Some works may contain material used under licence from third parties.
Examples include licensed stock music used in certain Between the Shadows productions or other material expressly identified as third-party content.
Copyright in third-party material remains with its respective copyright owner.
James Cole cannot grant permission to use material for which he does not hold the necessary rights.
Where third-party material forms part of a larger work, copyright may separately exist in James Cole’s original contributions and other protected elements to the extent provided by applicable law.
Government, Agency and Surveillance Use
No permission or licence is granted for copyrighted material owned by James Cole to be used by any government, government department, government agency, government-funded organisation, law enforcement body, contractor acting for or on behalf of government, or other person or organisation acting for or on behalf of any such body.
This includes use in:
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advertising
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campaigns
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promotional material
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public communications
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educational material
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training material
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publications
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presentations
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reports
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social media
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websites
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broadcasts
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films or recordings
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surveillance
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monitoring
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identification systems
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databases
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artificial intelligence systems
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machine learning datasets
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any future media, technology or method of reproduction, distribution, analysis or communication
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similar applications
James Cole does not grant permission for his copyrighted material to be filmed, photographed, recorded, reproduced, stored, analysed, catalogued or otherwise used for surveillance or monitoring purposes.
Where applicable law permits a government or other body to use copyrighted material without the copyright owner’s permission, nothing on this page purports to override that law.
Such legal permission does not constitute permission granted by James Cole, nor does it imply his approval, endorsement or consent.
No permission beyond any use independently authorised by applicable law is granted or implied.
For any government-related use for which permission from the copyright owner is required, permission must be obtained through a separate written licence agreed in advance.
James Cole’s stated licensing position is that any government-related use for which his permission is required will not be licensed for less than AUD $10,000,000 per individual use of each copyrighted work, unless different terms are expressly agreed in writing.
This statement does not create a statutory penalty, liquidated damages or automatic debt and does not apply where permission from the copyright owner is not required by law.
It does not limit any rights, remedies, damages, compensation or other relief that may otherwise be available to the copyright owner under applicable law.
Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Dataset Use
No permission is granted to reproduce, extract, scrape, ingest, copy or use copyrighted material owned by James Cole for the purpose of training, fine-tuning, evaluating or developing artificial intelligence or machine learning systems, or for creating datasets for those purposes.
No permission is granted to use protected material to generate imitations, adaptations or outputs intended to reproduce protected expression contained within a work.
This restriction applies to permissions controlled by James Cole. It does not purport to override a use independently permitted without the copyright owner’s consent under applicable law.
Names, Project Titles and Logos
Copyright and trade mark rights are different forms of intellectual property protection.
The appearance of a project name, business name or title on this page does not constitute a claim that copyright exists in the words of that name or title.
Original logo artwork, graphic design, illustrations and other qualifying visual material may separately be protected by copyright.
Names, logos and other brand identifiers may also be protected by registered or unregistered trade mark rights or other applicable laws independently of copyright.
Nothing on this page should be interpreted as claiming a registered trade mark where no such registration exists.
Permission Requests
If you would like to reproduce, publish, license or otherwise use material owned by James Cole beyond the permissions described on this page, please request permission before using it.
Email:
enquiry@jamescolecreative.com
Please include:
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the work you want to use
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where you found it
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how you intend to use it
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where the resulting material will appear
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whether the use is commercial
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the expected audience or distribution
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how long you intend to use it
Permission is not granted unless it is confirmed in writing.
Silence or failure to respond to a request does not constitute permission.
Existing Licences and Legal Exceptions
Nothing on this page overrides rights already granted under a valid written licence or agreement.
Nothing on this page purports to prevent a use that applicable law permits without the copyright owner’s permission.
Where specific licence terms accompany a particular work, product, platform or service, those terms may grant permissions additional to those described here.
International Use
This page describes James Cole’s general permissions and licensing position.
Copyright and other intellectual property rights may also arise under the laws of countries in which a work is accessed, reproduced, distributed or otherwise used.
The permissions granted by James Cole on this page remain limited to those expressly stated, regardless of where the material is encountered.
Copyright Notice
Unless otherwise stated:
© James Cole. All rights reserved.
James Cole reserves all rights in copyright material owned by him except where permission is expressly granted by this page, by a separate licence or agreement, or where applicable law permits use without his permission.
For copyright and permission enquiries: