Reuse our work
Peoplense is open to everyone. Here's exactly what you're free to reuse, what you're not, and how to credit us — so you never have to guess or wait for permission.
The short version
- ✅Our own writing — Decision Briefs, the Founder Column, our original frameworks and explainers — is free to reuse, even commercially, under a Creative Commons license. Just credit Peoplense and link back.
- ⛔The article summaries in our library are summaries of other publishers'work — not ours to give away. Read them here, then follow the link to the original publisher to reuse that material.
- ✉Not sure, or planning something big? Email info@peoplense.com — we're friendly about this.
What you can reuse freely
The following is 100% Peoplense's own work, published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license (CC BY 4.0):
- • Decision Briefs — our analysis, the "Peoplense Verdict," the "What to do Monday" guidance, and the disagreement and GCC-relevance sections we write
- • The Founder Column — our original essays
- • Original frameworks, checklists, and explainers we author, and our methodology write-ups
- • Our own Arabic translations of the above (we wrote them)
CC BY 4.0 means you may:
- • Share — copy and redistribute it in any medium or format
- • Adapt — remix, translate, shorten, or build on it
- • Use it commercially — in paid work, client deliverables, courses, books, newsletters, or talks
The one condition is attribution: you must credit Peoplense, link back to the original page, and note if you changed anything. No need to ask first; nothing to pay.
Allowed, concretely
- ✅ Quoting a Decision Brief's verdict in a LinkedIn post, with a link back
- ✅ Translating a brief for your team, noting it's your translation
- ✅ Putting an excerpt in a paid training deck, with the credit line
- ✅ Republishing a whole brief (credit + link + note any edits) — though a linked excerpt usually serves you better
- ✅ Building your own checklist on top of one of ours
How to credit us
Attribution just needs to make clear who made it, where it came from, and whether you changed it.
Online or in a document
Source: Peoplense — "Should we remove performance ratings?" — peoplense.com/decisions/should-we-remove-performance-ratingsIf you adapted or translated it
Adapted from Peoplense — "[title]" (link). Changes: translated to Arabic / condensed.A visible name and a working link is the whole ask. What doesn't count: using the content with no mention of Peoplense, or implying we endorse you, your product, or your organization.
What you can't reuse — and why
Most of our research library is made up of short summaries we write of articles published by others — SHRM, CIPD, academic journals, and industry or vendor sources. For each, we summarize the key points and link straight to the original.
Even though our team wrote those summaries, they are not ours to license. A summary of someone else's article is a derivative of their copyrighted work — it carries their findings and value. Owning the words we typed doesn't give us the right to hand their work to others. Our summarize-and-link approach is deliberately narrow — short, clearly labeled, and always sending readers to the source — and it isn't a right we can pass on.
With the summaries you may
- ✅ Read them here
- ✅ Link to our page
- ✅ Cite the work and go to the original publisher
You may not
- ⛔ Republish our article summaries on another site or newsletter
“But I'll credit the original source” — crediting isn't the same as permission. Copyright is about the right to copy, not about giving credit — so linking the publisher doesn't make our summary free to re-post. What you can do instead: read the original, write your own summary or take, quote a little with credit, and link — that's your own fair use, exactly how we work.
One nuance: a few sources we summarize are themselves openly licensed (e.g. Creative Commons). Where that's the case, you may reuse that material under the original source's license and attribution — not ours. If you're unsure whether a source qualifies, ask us or check the original.
What's never included
Regardless of the above, we grant no rights to:
- • Publishers' or third parties' logos, trademarks, or brand names
- • Charts, figures, images, or tables from source articles
- • The full text of any article we summarize
- • Use of "Peoplense" or our marks to imply endorsement, partnership, or sponsorship
Common questions
Can I use a Decision Brief in a paid course or client report?
Yes — CC BY allows commercial use. Credit us and link back.
Can I translate a brief?
Yes — translation is allowed. Note that it's your translation and credit the original.
Can I repost an entire brief on my site?
Yes, with credit + link + a note of any edits. (A linked excerpt is often better for both of us — it sends readers to the live, corrected version.)
Can I reuse one of your article summaries?
No — those belong to the original publisher. Link to our page if you like, but take the material itself from the source.
Do I have to ask permission?
Not for our CC BY work. For anything outside it, anything at scale, or if you're unsure — email us.
Can I use your logo?
Ask first — our name and marks aren't covered by the content license.
I'm a publisher and want a summary changed or removed.
Email us — we act on takedown requests promptly.
Questions, permissions, takedowns
info@peoplense.com — for anything not covered here, larger reuse, or a publisher request.
Mentions on Peoplense are for attribution and context, not endorsement. When we summarize or reference third-party work, we name the source, link the original, and correct errors clearly. We license only our own work; we make no claim over the third-party material we summarize and link to.