Finding & Using Images - Discovery Seminar – Anderson – Spring 2022 - Research Guides at Emory University Libraries

Finding Images
Copyright & Fair Use

Finding Images

Creative Commons and Public Domain

Creative Commons Search
CC Search is a tool that allows openly licensed and public domain works to be discovered and used by everyone.
Flickr Creative Commons images
Many Flickr users have licensed their work under creative commons.
Wikimedia Commons
Crowdsourced collection of Creative Commons media files.

Licensed Images

Unsplash
Unsplash grants its users an irrevocable, nonexclusive, worldwide copyright license to download, copy, modify, distribute, perform, and use photos from Unsplash for free, including for commercial purposes, without permission from or attributing the photographer or Unsplash. This license does not include the right to compile photos from Unsplash to replicate a similar or competing service.
Pixabay
All content on Pixabay is under Pixabay License and can be used for free for commercial and noncommercial use across print and digital, except in the cases mentioned in "What is not allowed".

Fine arts and photography

ARTstor This link opens in a new window
Curated collections of digital images and associated data for non-commercial, scholarly, non-profit, and educational use. Over 1 million images.
Digital Library of Georgia This link opens in a new window
Access materials related to the history and culture of the state of Georgia. Includes digitized books, newspapers, images, manuscripts, and more.
Oxford Art Online This link opens in a new window
Access a wide-variety of art resources across Oxford’s art reference works. Includes articles, visual arts, digital images, encyclopedias, and more.

The Met Collection
View thousands of public domain artworks that are part of The Metropolitan Museum of Art's collections.
Paris Musées
A platform bringing together works from 14 Paris museum collections. Many of the works are in the public domain.
Google Art Project
Google Art Project is an online platform through which the public can access high-resolution images of artworks housed in the initiative's partner museums.

Artstor Subject Guides:

Using & Citing Images

Copyright & Fair Use

Before we look at using and citing images and other visual resources for the cases you have been researching for this course, we first must understand WHY we need to follow the appropriate steps for using these images.

What is Copyright?

"Copyright is a form of protection grounded in the U.S. Constitution and granted by law for original works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression. Copyright covers both published and unpublished works."

U.S. Copyright Office. (n.d.). Copyright in general. [Webpage] Retrieved from https://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html#what

What items are copyrighted?

Literary
Dramatic
Musical
Artistic (e.g. poetry, novels, photographs, movies, songs, computer software, and architecture)
Websites (original authorship appearing on websites)

U.S. Copyright Office. (n.d.). What does copyright protect?. [Webpage] Retrieved from https://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-protect.html#what_protect

When is a work copyrighted?

A "work is under copyright protection the moment it is created and fixed in a tangible form that it is perceptible either directly or with the aid of a machine or device."

U.S. Copyright Office. (n.d.). Copyright in general. [Webpage] Retrieved from https://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html#what

Newbold, Curtis. "Can I Use that Picture?" 2014, The Visual Communication Guy, http://thevisualcommunicationguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Infographic_CanIUseThatPicture4.jpg

What is Fair Use?

107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use40

Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include—

(1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;

(2) the nature of the copyrighted work;

(3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and

(4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors.

Footnote 40: The Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990 amended section 107 by adding the reference to section 106A. Pub. L. No. 101-650, 104 Stat. 5089, 5132. In 1992, section 107 was also amended to add the last sentence. Pub. L. No. 102-492, 106 Stat. 3145

U.S. Copyright Office. (n.d.). What does copyright protect?. [Webpage] Retrieved from https://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html#107

Fair Use Assessment Tools

Fair Use Evaluator by Michael Brewer & ALA Office for Information Technology Policy (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0)

Fair Use Checklist by Kenneth D. Crews (formerly of Columbia University) and Dwayne K. Buttler (University of Louisville) (CC BY 4.0)

Key Takeaways

All original works of authorship are copyrighted from the moment of creation
When using and citing copyrighted images and other visual resources, conducting a fair use assessment is recommended

BEST PRACTICE

Always cite images and other visual resources so that others can see where it came from.
Cite your own photos to show others where it came from.
If taking your own photos, be sure to request permission from the people you would like to have in the photo. If they are minors, you MUST request permission from a parent or guardian.