Images and copyright

Photographs, tables, maps, works of art, illustrations, etc. that are printed or published on the Internet are protected by copyright. Should you want to use copyrighted images (those not in the public domain and/or without a Creative Commons license), you usually need the permission of the copyright holder.

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Images that may be used without obtaining permission

There are many collections of images under different licensing agreements that may be used without asking the copyright holder for permission. Licenses allow for different types of usage. Usually images may not be used in commercial contexts and may not be altered. Some licenses allow free use of images. It is important to follow the licensing agreement carefully. Licenses usually require users to acknowledge the copyright holder.

Creative Commons licences

Creative Commons (CC) is a licensing tool that stipulates the use of copyrighted material. The license clearly indicates the rights and limitations of use. A CC license may only be used for copyrighted material and one of the basic requirements is that the copyright holder is acknowledged.

Acknowledging copyright holders
There is no standard format for referencing free images. To reference material under a CC license, we recommend that you include the title and link to the image, the name of the copyright holder, and the type of CC license. There is no requirement to acknowledge the copyright holder when using images with CC0-licences, but we recommend that you do.

Referencing images

You cannot "quote" images; instead, you should refer to them in the same way as a written work. Read more about how to refer to images in the subject guide or under the heading Writing & Referencing.

Images and AI

AI-generated images are not covered by copyright, as only physical persons can hold copyright to an original work. However, there can be restrictions on how the images may be used. Read more about copyright and AI images:

Obtaining permission from copyright holders

If you want to use images or other materials that are not covered by licenses or agreements, you need to contact the copyright holders to seek permission. The copyright holder is usually indicated next to the image, on the website, or on the publisher’s information pages. Permission to use an image in a thesis or dissertation is usually free of charge. When it comes to a figure or table from an international scientific book or journal, it is often the Copyright Clearance Center that handles the copyright.

  • Contact the photographer, author, artist or other copyright holders first
  • Indicate in which context you want to use the image and how it will be published when asking permission
  • Ask permission in writing and keep the permission you are given. If you use copyrighted material without permission, you risk incurring legal action

If you do not know who the copyright owner is or do not receive a response to your request, it is better not to use the material.
An alternative is to find similar images that are free to use. You can also make an independent adaptation and create a new image. However, it is important to reference the original image with ‘adapted by…’. An adaptation can, for example, be converting a table into a pie chart since facts are not covered by copyright. Other examples of a sufficiently independent adaptation of an image can be difficult to determine.

Collections of images:

This material can be used for educational purposes within KAU, but not externally:

  • Artstor Artstor Digital Library, a database with more than 3 million images in art, architecture, humanities and science. These images may be used freely for educational purposes, but you always need to supply a reference for each image used. Click on "Cite this item" to obtain the reference.
  • Britannica Image Quest The library database comprises more than 2 million images. These images may be used freely for educational purposes, but you always need to supply a reference for each image used. Click on “Cite” to obtain the reference.

You can use the occasional single image in presentations with the support of Bonus copyright access.

This material can be used for educational purposes and externally:

  • CC Search/Openverse  A search tool that allows openly licensed and public domain works to be discovered and used by everyone. Please verify the licensing status and attribution information independently before reusing the content.
  • Flickr Comprises images under different licences, including some under CC licences. Select “Creative Commons” from the “Any licence” dropdown menu.
  • Pexels Free image library and search engine for other image collections.
  • Pixabay Free images and videos that you may download, modify and use royalty free for anything. Pixabay has its own licence equal to CC0. You do not have to acknowledge the copyright holder, but we recommend that you do. (Pixabay also provide a choice of professional photos. Those images are marked with the Shutterstock logo.)
  • Smithsonian Open Access - images from museums, archives with CC0-licence.
  • Unsplash These photographs are free to use. You do not have to acknowledge the copyright holder, but we recommend that you do.
  • Wikimedia Commons This database includes images, music and sound files under Creative Commons (CC) licences.
  • 31 Free Public Domain Image Websites​​​​ Link to article about various image sites.

 

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