UA How to Do It Right
All the legal terms sound confusing and, in places, a bit intimidating. But in reality, you can safely use a large share of the content out there — the key is to follow the terms set by the license. Let’s take a look at what types of licenses exist and how they differ.
Most often, the terms of use for content are spelled out on the website where the images are hosted. On top of that, there are a few of the most common license types that define usage rights for different kinds of content:
- The GNU Free Documentation License (GNU FDL) is a license for free software developed by the Free Software Foundation. It allows you to copy, distribute, and modify software, but only on the condition that all derivative works carry the same license.
- The Free Art License (License Art Libre) is a similar license, but aimed at the distribution of works of art.
- Creative Commons is the most popular license, covering any type of content.
It’s the Creative Commons license type that’s worth paying attention to when searching for images, so let’s focus on it.
Types of Creative Commons Licenses
- CC BY (Attribution) – “With Attribution” – the most permissive license. Images under this license can be distributed, modified, and used even for commercial purposes, as long as no author information is provided.
- CC BY-SA (ShareAlike) – “Share Alike — Copyleft” – allows you to distribute, modify, and use the image commercially, but only if you credit the author and license all modified/derived images under the same terms. This license is often compared to free open-source software licenses.
- CC BY-ND (NoDerivs) – “Attribution — No Derivatives” – this license type permits commercial and non-commercial use of images with attribution, but prohibits any changes, including translating text, adding captions, and so on.
- CC BY-NC (NonCommercial) – “Attribution — NonCommercial” – allows you to use, distribute, and modify the image, but only for non-commercial purposes and with attribution. Licensing derivative works under the same terms isn’t required.
- CC BY-NC-SA (NonCommercial-ShareAlike) – “Attribution — NonCommercial — Copyleft” – lets you modify and distribute the image as long as it carries no author information, and all modified or edited images carry the same license.
- CC BY-NC-ND (NonCommercial-NoDerivs) – “Attribution — NonCommercial — No Derivatives” – the strictest of the six main licenses. It lets you download images and share them with attribution, but prohibits any modifications or commercial use.
- CC0 (Creative Commons Zero) lets content owners and creators waive copyright on their work entirely, so other people can use it completely freely, for any purpose, with no restrictions.
If content on a website is published under a Creative Commons license, you’ll find a marker for the specific license at the bottom of the page or on the work itself. You can see examples of the icons here.
Public Domain
Another category worth knowing about is the “public domain.” Works of science, literature, or art enter the public domain once the exclusive right to them expires, regardless of whether they were ever published. Under the Civil Code, content in the public domain can be used and distributed without restriction, but this doesn’t cancel the author’s moral rights, such as the right of authorship, the right to be named, and the right to the integrity of the work. So you can’t add to, shorten, or comment on a public-domain work without the consent of the author or their successors. And under the Berne Convention, the author is also entitled to protection of their reputation.
When working with images that are in the public domain, it’s important to make sure they’re actually in the public domain in every relevant jurisdiction.
For example, an image might be in the public domain in Ukraine but not in the US. If you’re not sure whether an image is in the public domain, check further to protect yourself.
So Where Should You Get Images Without Breaking the Law
“Do It Yourself”
The ideal option is having a photographer and a designer on staff. The key is not to forget to specify in the employment contract who owns the rights to the work. You can also sign contracts with several outsourced photographers or designers and, if you’re lucky, negotiate free use of their content.
You can also create images without specially trained people, using tools built for non-professionals. For example:
- Canva ,
- Pixlr ,
- PickMonkey ,
- Easelly ,
- Quotescover .
Paid and Free Stock Photo Sites (photo stocks)
Whichever stock photo site you choose, you’re unlikely to be the only one using that particular image. That said, the libraries of large stock photo sites have images for practically any purpose — the key is to read the license terms carefully. On top of that, stock sites sometimes slip up and use images without the author’s knowledge, so it’s worth double-checking your chosen images on Google.
Here are a few free image sources with large libraries:
- Pexels ,
- Unsplash ,
- Pixabay .
- ISO Republic ,
- CC Search (a search engine for Creative Commons-licensed images across various sites).
The license terms on Pexels, Unsplash, Pixabay, and ISO Republic state that images can be used for both commercial and non-commercial purposes without crediting the author or the platform (though credit is appreciated when possible). But keep in mind that photos may feature recognizable brands with registered trademarks, as well as private buildings belonging to companies with rights over their image and property. Such images may not be suitable for certain kinds of commercial use.
Public Domain Resources
A large list of platforms with public-domain images can be found here. We covered the specifics of this type of image above.
Social Media
GIFs and images from Instagram, Tumblr, or Twitter can be used for non-commercial purposes via the “Embed” feature. Before inserting a snippet, read the terms carefully: it’s important not to break the platform’s rules.
Google Search
Google Images has an advanced filter that lets you select the license you need. One of the most permissive options is “licensed for use and modification.” But even after picking an image, it’s still worth visiting the source website.
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Copyright is an area the average marketing specialist doesn’t always think about. And that’s a mistake — careless handling and non-compliance can turn into serious fines. At the same time, following the basic rules is fairly easy: all it takes is sticking to the terms of the license.
