Art, Art History, & Design

Before using an image for any purpose – but especially for any non-education use – consider the following:

1. Why are you using the image? If it is “for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research,” you can apply the four factors of fair use (see the information on Fair Use) and may not have to worry about copyright.
2. Do you understand the term "fair use?" Read through the four factors of fair use and weigh if your use of an image meets the requirements for fair use. If you can prove fair use (and a judge would agree with you), you may use the image.
3. Have you changed or transformed the image? Significantly altering an image or creating a "transformative work" may protect you from copyright infringement. Legal tests for transformative works often go beyond simply seeing if the work looks similar and also test if the new work serves the same purpose -- if it could be easily substituted.
4. Can you use a lower resolution or crop the image? When possible, use a low-resolution or thumbnail version of the image and, if you don't need the whole image, use only the part that you need. This is not a perfect solution -- if in doubt always fall back on the four factors of fair use.
5. Are you willing to risk being sued or other legal action? The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) provides extra protection for copyright owners in the digital space beyond other copyright law.  When in doubt about an image, find one in the public domain or creative commons. You can find places to look in this guide.
6. Does your image include people? If so, you may need to consider rights of privacy or publicity. To avoid privacy issues, only include images of adults in public places.
7. Does your image include buildings built after 1990? These are also subject to copyright; use only images taken from a public place like a sidewalk or street..
8. If you aren't sure, make your own images. Take a photograph or draw your own pictures to avoid copyright-infringement. One exception: photographs of artwork may be subject to copyright, so avoid using photographs of works of art that aren't in the public domain.
9. Attribution is not the same as fair use.  Citing an image has nothing to do with fair use. Providing attribution for an artist or linking to an image offers you no protection against copyright infringement; it only helps you avoid plagiarism.  To determine if you can use the image, see the four-factors of fair use.

This information is not legal advice. Librarians cannot interpret the law or otherwise advise students or instructors about whether a particular use of copyrighted material is legal in a particular context.

This guide was adapted from the “Copyright and fair use for images” guide by the Ohio Wesleyan University Libraries.

Materials that are in the "public domain" are works that are not protected by any kind of intellectual property laws, including copyright. Anyone may use public domain works without seeking permission from or compensating the copyright holder, including for commercial purposes.

How does a work enter the public domain?

• The copyright expired. Under U.S. law, copyright protection only lasts for a certain length of time determined by laws set by Congress. These have changed over the years, resulting in different sets of deadlines.It is generally, though not always, the life of the author plus 70 years.
• The work does not qualify for copyright protection. In order to be protected by copyright, the work must be original, creative, and fixed in a tangible form. The ideas behind a work is not protected, nor are any data or facts the contribute to the work. Be careful, though as these may still be protected by a patent or trademark.
• The work was produced by the US federal government. Works created by employees of the US government are not protected by copyright. However, works by freelancers, contractors, or other nations' governments may still be protected.
• The creator waives the copyright. Creators may want to offer their work for free using a public domain license like CC0 or similar.

What about Creative Commons? Is that the same as public domain?

No. Creative Commons operates in a space between traditional copyright protection and the public domain. While works under a CC0 license are public domain, works licensed under one of the other six CC licenses are not. The Creative Commons licenses offer permission to use a creators work without asking explicitly so long as the conditions of the license is followed. This is not the same as a work in the public domain, where no conditions need to be met.

Find more information in the Creative Commons section of this guide.

This information is not legal advice. Librarians cannot interpret the law or otherwise advise students or instructors about whether a particular use of copyrighted material is legal in a particular context.

This section is adapted from the Public Domain guide from the University of Texas - San Antonio Libraries.