Images: Finding and Using Images on the Web

Copyright is protection under the law for specific legally defined items. When something is protected by copyright, reuse, distribution, manipulation of the material therein may be restricted or prohibited. Copyright applies to material fixed in a tangible form, in writing, digital format, etc.

Ideas, methods, processes, concepts, facts, etc. cannot be copyrighted. 

Examples of copyrighted materials include:

• Literary works
• Musical works, including any accompanying words
• Dramatic works, including any accompanying music
• Pantomimes and choreographic works
• Pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works
• Motion pictures and other audiovisual works
• Sound recordings, which are works that result from the fixation of a series of musical, spoken, or other sounds
• Architectural works

U.S. Copyright Office. (September 2017). Circular one: Copyright basics. Retrieved from https://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ01.pdf

There are certain exceptions to copyrighted materials including images. Fair Use is the term used to label some of these exceptions. Fair Use includes the following considerations:

• Purpose and character of the use, including whether the use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes
• Nature of the copyrighted work
• Amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole
• Effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work

From U.S. Copyright Office Fair Use Index (Learn More About Fair Use Here)

Fair Use is fluidly defined and there is no formula to definitely determine fair use. Fair Use is determined on a case-by-case basis and established through judicial determinations. 

What is Creative Commons?

A Creative Commons license is a legal license which details the approved use of a work, whether it is for educational purposes, dedicated to the public domain (or not limited by copyright and free to use), etc. 

Material with this license means you can use the material for commercial or non-commercial use, the material can be tweaked, changed, or built upon as long as the original is attributed.

This license means the material cannot be used for commercial (for-profit) purposes but can be used for non-commercial (i.e. educational) purposes and can be tweaked or built upon with attribution. The material produced from the original attributed material does not have to be licensed identically. 

This license means that the material cannot be changed and cannot be used commercially. The material must be attributed.

This license means that the material can be tweaked or built on, must be used for non-commercial purposes with attribution, and works derived must carry the same license.

This license means the material can be used commercially or non-commercially with attribution but cannot be changed, tweaked, or built on.

This license means the material can be used commercially or non-commercially, can be changed or built on with attribution, but any work derived from the original must carry the same license. 

Creative Commons. (November 7, 2017). About the Licenses. Creative Commons. Retrieved from https://creativecommons.org/licenses/

Public Domain: the status of a literary work or an invention whose copyright or patent has expired or that never had such protection.

Definition from Dictionary.com

How do you determine public domain materials?

Works in the public domain (free to use without permission or attribution) include:

• materials that cannot be copyrighted such as familiar phrases/slogans, ideas not expressed in a tangible form, laws, facts, etc
• materials designated for public domain (dedicated)
• materials where the copyright has expired (70 years after author's death or 120 years after creation if the author is anonymous or a corporation 

Electronic Frontier Foundation. (ND). Public Domain Frequently Asked Questions. Teaching Copyright. Retrieved from https://www.teachingcopyright.org/handout/public-domain-faq.html

A watermark is an embedded logo, creator name, or picture in a work (image, video, or document) which can only be removed by legally purchasing the material with the appropriate usage license. Watermarks should not be removed by photo manipulation such as cropping. It is not recommended to use watermarked materials in research or commercial endeavors. 

A watermark may appear as a repeating logo or word across an image or video (above) or it may appear as a single logo or word anywhere on the material.