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    Images, Infographics & Graphics Resources: Copyright & Licenses

    Images Online: Licenses & Copyrights

    • Assume all images are under copyright unless stated otherwise.
      • Free to use, Creative Commons, and other types of open licenses/exemptions to copyright are all explicit--if you can't find a statement they don't apply.
    • Copyrighted works can be used in school work when necessary but:
      • Don't repost it anywhere outside submitting for class inside the class environment (i.e. don't use for an online portfolio).
        • This especially applies to work intended for publication, such as dissertations and nursing capstones. Dissertations must have permission from the owner to include any copyrighted figures. 
      • Follow full citation rules for the style used in the class (MLA, APA, Turabian).
      • Make sure the image is necessary, not just decoration.
        • Examples: Charts & graphs from the Statista database or tables & figures from journal articles, used as evidence. 

    Citing Images

    Types of Open Licenses & Rights

    Free to Use, No Attribution Required and Creative Commons Zero (CC0)

    • Creative Commons Zero enters a modern work into public domain and comes with no attribution required.
    • Common for free stock photo sites, clip art, and graphics included with graphic makers.
    • Free to use, no attribution doesn't always mean free of cost. Many software subscriptions like Office 365 include a license of this type for items created with them.
      • Icons , 3D models & shapes in Microsoft Office 365 are all no attribution required.
      • This does not include the online images option, which searches the internet. 
    • May be altered, remixed, edited, and generally reposted in many circumstances.
      • Check the site's Terms of Service or License for exact rules and limits.
    • Fine to use for portfolios or other work that will appear in places other than the classroom.
    • CC0 and Free to Use, No Attribution does not mean no limits at all.
    • Don't:
      • Repost from one stock site to another.
      • Create your own sets of stock photos for others to download.
      • Use stock photos of people in ways that could been seen as morally objectionable/obscene. This is generally barred by model contracts.
      • Use stock photos that include trademarks without checking legal limits.

    Creative Commons CC-BY or Attribution Required

    • Free to use, or use with limits, but the creator must be credited.
    • Multiple variations exist . Each has slightly different limits.
    • Might be okay for portfolios or other reposted work, depending on the type of CC and the use. Read the rules carefully.
    • Attribution can be a citation in APA, MLA, or Turabian style. 

    Public Domain

    • Similar to Free to Use, but attribution won't be mentioned outright.
    • Historical or archival items created prior to the 1920s. 
      • Careful: The artwork may be from before 1920, but is the photograph of it also from before?
    • Works created in their entirety by an agency of the U.S. Federal Government. 

    poster says for greater knowledge use your library more often

    Illinois WPA Art Projects Chicago. (1941). For greater knowledge on more subjects use your library more often [Poster]. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., United States. https://www.loc.gov/resource/cph.3f05183/

    For example, this poster from the Works Project Administration in Chicago.

    Important Warnings

    • Even broad licenses may have limits--using it outside the classroom? Read any terms or licenses carefully.
      • For example:
        • Many stock photo sites forbid uses that imply the models themselves are endorsing a product or doing something illegal.
        • Public domain images may have trademarked items in them.
    • The Library cannot give legal advice, but we can help locate license information or help you cite your images.
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