Finding and Using Online Images Ethically

You should assume that all materials you find online are copyrighted!

*Intellectual Property refers to products of the mind or products of human creativity. It is a broad expression of law that includes other bodies of law, such as copyright, trademarks, trade secrets, and patents.

The Doctrine of Fair Use

Fair use generally applies to nonprofit, educational purposes that do not affect the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work. When an information source is copyrighted, you should cite it if you quote or paraphrase it in your paper or speech.

Fair Use allows use of copyrighted materials without permission under certain circumstances, such as:

• Research & Scholarship
• Non-profit education
• Parody & Satire
• News reporting
• Criticism & commentary

There are four factors of Fair Use:

1. Purpose of the use (Is it for non-profit or commercial use?)
2. Nature of the copyrighted material (Does it encourage creative expression?)
3. Amount used (How much are you using?)
4. Effect on the market of the original  (Does your  use impact the copyright owner's original work, both existing and future?

Fair use is:

• A right (not just a privilege) according to an “equitable rule of reason.”
• Not an infringement of copyright
• A social bargain that offers exclusive rights in copyrighted works to encourage artists to produce culture

Is your use of a work TRANSFORMATIVE?
Transformative work does not have to be a literal transformation of the work – You can put the work in a NEW CONTEXT where it performs a NEW FUNCTION

• Use public domain reference material whenever possible or obtain permission from the owner if copyrighted
• Try to avoid using the reference material in its entirety – use pieces
• Use the reference material to guide you someplace original – don't just cut and paste
• Make sure your use of the reference is sufficiently transformative
   

Works that are in the public domain may be used freely, without obtaining permission from or compensating the copyright owner.

However, you should credit the author, if possible, even if it is in public domain. Being in a public space does not necessarily mean something is considered public domain. 

Works in the public domain are NOT protected by copyright. Being in public domain means:

• The copyright may have expired or it never had a copyright
• Works created before 1926 (unless renewed/extended by copyright holder), including books, films, artworks, sheet music
• On January 1, 2023, works created before 1927 become public domain

For the first time, over 400,000 audio recordings created before 1923 entered public domain on January 1, 2022, due to the Music Modernization Act (2018)
Facts, ideas, discoveries, or other non-protectable work and works by the US government CANNOT be copyrighted.

Open licenses enable creators to proactively grant certain rights in advance, while still retaining copyright

Creative Commons (CC) is an example of open licenses.
CC provides a set of copyright licenses and tools that can be adapted on varying levels set by the creator

What are Creative Commons Licenses? Video (1:57)
CC currently has 6 levels that define:

• Attribution
• Derivative work
• Licensing share terms 
• Non-commercial or commercial use
• https://creativecommons.org/about/cclicenses/ 

CC = Creative Commons
BY = creator (who it is BY)
SA = Share Alike license terms
NC = Non-Commercial only
ND = No Derivatives

Open Access allows free access of published material through digital repositories. The rights vary between sources.