Lesley University Library: Visual Media: Finding & Citing: Can I Use It? FAQ

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Faculty Questions

Contact Art Librarian Micki Harrington if...

You're looking to secure reprint permissions for images/videos you're publishing with your research
You have questions about whether your use of materials in class falls under Fair Use
You want someone to talk to your students about how to find and use visual media ethically

Micki Harrington
Art Librarian
mharri27@lesley.edu

Can I Use It? Flowchart

Copyright Basics

COPYRIGHT

As soon as you produce an image, written statement (text, tweet, etc.), sound recording, etc. it is immediately protected under copyright law. It's not like a patent for an invention, where you have to file official paperwork. This means that if you're publishing a book, or creating a website, and you want to include someone else's photographs, even if you found them for free on the internet, you probably have to get written permission. Check out some exceptions below:

FAIR USE (Educational Use)

If you're using images for a presentation in class or to include in a research paper, just to be shown to your teacher and classmates, for a specific assignment, you can use any images you want. You just want to make sure you cite everything correctly, so your professor can check your sources. However, if you then want to present that same PowerPoint to the public at a conference, or submit that paper to be published in a journal, you would have to get permission from the copyright holders for the images you use. However, there are even exceptions to that! Check them out below:

CREATIVE COMMONS

There is a non-profit solution to the hassle of getting copyright permissions. People can now publish images on the web and tell you exactly how you're allowed to use them. So a photographer can publish their images with a Creative Commons license that allows people to use it for free, as long as they attribute it to them and don't change anything. Someone else might publish images for non-commercial use only, but allow you to modify them. People can even require that if you modify their image and create something new, you have to share the result openly with everyone (called ShareAlike). Go to the Creative Commons website for more information about the licenses, with links to searchable databases of creative commons images. To use an image, just copy and paste the Creative Commons license next to the image with an attribution:

PUBLIC DOMAIN

Works are only covered under copyright for the life of the author plus 70 years. Works published in the U.S. before 1923, or published before 1963 without being renewed, are now in the Public Domain. This means that they can be used, modified, shared, etc. You don't have to attribute them, or get permission. If you're using them for a school assignment, you should still cite them, so your professor knows where you got them. You can also publish new images with a Creative Commons 0 license (CC0), which effectively enters it into the public domain immediately. For more information about the public domain, visit this Teaching Copyright page.

Do I need permission to use an image in a paper or class presentation?

Most educational uses of visual media are covered under fair use. So you have to cite the information/images/videos you find, but you don't have to ask for permission to use them. If you're using it for in-class use, only to be shown to your classmates and professor then you have more freedom than if you wanted to publish someone else's image publicly (like on your blog or online portfolio).

How do I find images I can publish publicly?

Can I remix someone else's work into my own and publish it publicly?

You can't infringe on someone else's ability to make money from their image, so if you make a copy of a copyrighted painting (something current that's not in the public domain) for personal use that's okay, but not if you're going to sell it. You can use a small portion of a work for criticism or to use in a transformative new work (like collage), however it's hard to judge how much of a work you can safely use and still call it "fair use". It's better to just ask for permission to use their work, because you'd probably appreciate the same if it were your artwork someone else wanted to remix. Check out the image banks in this guide if you want images that aren't copyrighted, or that are licensed for free sharing as long as you attribute, and check out the links below with more answers to artists' questions.
Painting from reference photos
Copyright answers for artists

Can I share other people's artwork on social media? How do I protect my own artwork if it's on social media?

You should share links to artwork/images so that the creator controls how it's viewed and gets credit. Don't download someone else's image or video and upload it as your own. If you see that your own work is being shared on social media without your permission you should message them and ask that they attribute you and include a link to your website, or you can ask them to take it down completely. Sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter have forms you can fill out if someone is posting your images without your permission. Google "Facebook infringement" for example, to find those forms.

How do I cite an image if I don't have all the information about it?

You can cite a corporation as an author. For example if you found the picture below, you could cite the Audubon Society as the author. If you use Google Images, click Visit Page to get author/publishing date information (don't just copy the image from the search results). If you don't know who the author is, because it seems like the person who designed the website is using someone else's images, then you should try to track down the original creator or find different images to use instead (use the resources in the rest of this guide!)

How do I secure reprint permissions for an article or book I'm publishing?

If the image was published in a book, it's likely that the publisher now owns the copyright of the image, instead of the artist. Look in the About section of a publisher's website for their Permissions page. They'll have you fill out a form for reprint permissions, asking questions like where it will be published, how many copies will be printed, and how wide of an audience will see it. These questions are typically used to determine how much money to charge you for permission. If you think an artist still has copyright of the image, check their website for a way to contact them to ask for reprint permission. E-mail Art Librarian Micki Harrington if you have questions about finding out who published an image, or how to secure reprint permissions. If you are publishing in a book or journal, check with the publisher to determine whether or not they have procedures for securing reprint permissions for you.

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Visual Media: Finding & Citing