Skip to Main Content

Copyright Basics: Images and Permissions

This guide does not substitute for official legal advice or give exhaustive coverage of fair use guidelines.

Getting Permissions to Use Images

FIND IMAGES

 

1. Search Baystate Library & Knowledge Services databases

 

2. Search the Public Domain

Using still images in the public domain does not require copyright permission, but you may still need permission to use the image and will need to cite the source of the image and its owner.

 

Search Google images using .gov or .mil for public domain images.

http://images.google.com/advanced_image_search

 

Wikimedia.org

http://www.commons.wikimedia.org

 

Explanation of Derivative works

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Derivative_works

 

3. Pay for Stock Photos

For starters, go to National Library of Medicine: Medical Stock Sources

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/services/stockshot.html

 

OBTAIN PERMISSIONS

 

Fair Use:

Become familiar with fair use guidelines by going to Columbia University Libraries Copyright Advisory Office.

 

For more information on still images and fair use, read the Visual Resources Association: Statement on the Fair Use of Images for Teaching, Research, and Study.

 

For moving images you can refer to The Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Online Video from the American University Center for Social Media.

Copyright and Use Fees

If you find your use of an image does not fall under fair use and it’s not in the public domain, you will need to get permission to reproduce the image in your article, poster, or presentation outside Baystate. Consult Cornell's helpful guide on Copyright Terms and the Public Domain

 

If you want to use a copyrighted image, you will need to get permission from the copyright holder to use it. Also find out : 1) how to cite the source of your image, 2) if there’s a fee for reproducing the image, and 3) the terms of use.

 

More Information on Permissions:

 

From The Copyright Crash Course by Georgia Harper, University of Texas Libraries

Columbia University’s Copyright Advisory Office Permissions