So we've all been there: we want to use a picture that we found online
in something that we're making. Maybe a video or a flyer, who knows.
So I want to go over some of those legal things--especially if you're a student
in class, but of course it might apply beyond that.
So let me draw two columns here, or two lines and three columns,
and on the left will be THE PUBLIC DOMAIN. If I'm finding pictures that are in
the public domain, in the U.S. that kind of means that they were made before 1923,
but of course there are other complications to that too. But the main idea about
the public domain is YOU CAN USE IT. You find a picture, you can sell it,
you can print it, you can blow it up, you can cut it up, you can do whatever you want.
So how do I find these awesome public domain pictures? Well often I personally
go to Flickr, because I can choose that "no copyright restrictions" under the
"licensing options." But you know, there are also pages about finding public domain
stuff all over the Internet. You can find it on your own.
So great! You found some pictures that you can use in any way you want,
that makes you really happy! So what other kind of work is out there?
Well there's also copyrighted work. How do you know if an image is copyrighted?
Ok, this is kind of a hard word here, but anything you find that isn't
specifically marked otherwise, we have to assume that it's copyrighted.
And you might be like, "Wait! What are you even talking about?"
Well let's say you take a selfie of some type, and you're like,
"Hey, it's just a selfie, it's no big deal, I'm not thinking about ownership."
But you know, actually, for real, YOU OWN IT.
You took it, you made it--it's the same for a song you make, or a drawing
you write, or a story you write-- if you're the creator of it,
you don't have to like license it with the government or anything.
If you made it, you own it. And that also means that you get to tell other people
what they may and may not do with it. And I think that's actually kind of a good
thing, right? By the way, if you put it on social media, that is a little more
complicated, because you're following their agreements when you signed
up for that. But whatever. So you find a copyrighted image,
which is something that doesn't say whether it's copyrighted or not,
you're just going to assume it is, and you want to use it anyway!
You've got this flyer! You've got this video! You've got something you want
to do--how do you use it? Well I mean, the first thing you could do is
pay them; sometimes there's a system set up to pay for the rights to use it.
You could always ask--you could get, you know, an email or a letter
or something saying, "Yeah yeah yeah! Go ahead and use it!"
There's also what we call "fair use." You might have heard that term here and there.
I don't want to go into super-duper-duper detail about what fair use is,
but in general, especially if your'e a student, especially if you're finding an
image for class, the real question here that I often find myself asking is,
"Are you critiquing it in some way? Are you using only as much as you need?
Are you in some way helping the artist?" In other words, showing that you're
not hurting the market for this image? I'm telling you, fair use is more complicated
than that--believe me. But that's some of the things I often think about.
So let's say, for example, that I find this beautiful picture of a mountain
and I'm like, "Hey! I wanna put it on my flyer!" And I might ask you,
"Ok, why do you want to use it?" And if your answer is like,
"You know, it's just like beautiful! It looks cool! I like it! I like the picture!"
[Buzz sound] You're probably not going to have a fair use.
So what would make it more fair? Well what if I were writing an essay
about the photography here, and I'm saying, "Hey here are all the ways
this photography was used!" I'm using it as part of my critical, academic
argument, right? That's more likely to be fair. What if I cut out all
the stuff except the parts I'm really critiquing? Again, it's more likely
to be fair. What if I give links so where people can sell it, showing that
I don't want to hurt the market--again, more likely to be fair.
Ok. So we've got 2 columns, right? You've got the public domain stuff,
you've got the copyrighted stuff. There's a third column here called
Creative Commons. It's essentially a licensing agency, which lets creators
of stuff, in advance, say, "Hey hey hey! You don't have to PAY me, you don't
have to ASK me every time. Let me tell you what you can do!
No, it's not in the public domain; there are SOME guidelines here--
you have to give me credit, but there's a little bit of an in-between feeling."
Does that make sense? So remember that picture I showed you
of the selfie earlier? I actually got that from Flickr.com. And I know that this picture
is licensed by Creative Commons because of this little stuff down here,
where it says "some rights reserved." That first image of the person means that
if I use it, I have to give credit to this person; I have to actually say,
"This is the person who owns it, and this is what it's called."
That second one, the little dollar sign on the right, by "some rights reserved,"
means I can't sell it; I can't make any money off of the use of this picture.
Now, not all Creative Commons licenses say that. But, what's really cool about
Creative Commons is it lets people who own stuff--which is you, if you
take any pictures or make anything at all --it lets those people say, "Here is how
I want you to use it, within certain guidelines." Whether they can remix it,
whether they have to use the same license in the future, etc. etc.
So I legally can't make money off of this video! Because I'm using this picture,
right here. That's kind of interesting, right? I have to follow the guidelines
that this picture used. Ok, let me keep going here.
How do I find Creative Commons pictures? Well again, I go to Flickr. I love Flickr
because I can choose Creative Commons in the licensing thing; I can choose to
organize by if it's relevant or if it's interesting; I can choose all these
color options... Ok. You might say like, "No no no, I like Google Images,
That's so much better!" And as you might know, under the search tools,
you CAN essentially decide to find stuff that is licensed by Creative Commons
or in the public domain with that little box. Here's the problem that I often have:
it's that once I click into a picture, I don't necessarily know who wrote it;
I don't...who made it. I don't necessarily know how to give credit,
it's like...to this picture. I mean, that stuff there doesn't really tell me
anything, as contrasted with the Flickr page: it does tell exactly who owns it,
and here's exactly what it's called. Other places to find Creative Commons-
licensed stuff is on--duh--Creative Commons.org, where they'll give you
a lot of places to look. Ok. So. We've got these 3 categories, and you're like,
"Ok, I think I kinda sorta get it?" But then you're like,
"WHAT? How should I give credit to this?" Ok, super fast:
If I'm giving credit--I'm gonna make another 2 columns here--
I've gotta break this up by, are we using these images
in academic contexts, where we cite, right?-- that's what we DO in academic contexts--
like you use a source in an essay, etc. Or am I using it in some other context?
Well, it kind of depends. The answer depends on what you're talking about.
Because the LEGAL idea of what you can use and how you can use it
isn't necessarily the same as the CONVENTIONAL idea of what you can
use in a context--like, academia. So, for example:
If you're getting something from the public domain, in an academic context,
meaning like something I'm doing for a class, I've gotta cite it. Right?
Of course I've got to cite it! You cite all your stuff.
So--spoiler alert--Creative Commons? Cite that too.
Fair...yes! Just cite it, right? By "cite it," I mean, follow the citation
conventions for whatever document you're creating, like an MLA citation
like I put there. Ok. But what about in other contexts?
A public domain image that I'm using, well no one's forcing me to give any
credit at all. I can just take that picture, I can use it, and like I said, I can even
make money off of it. It's in the public domain! It's in the domain of the public,
right? Cool! What if I find a Creative Commons-licensed picture?
Well, all Creative Commons licenses force you to attribute. So--there's also
often other things that I have to follow too, based on what the original
creator said. What if I'm using a copyrighted image, and I think that
I have a fair use right? (Remember, if I'm critiquing it, if I'm only using a little bit,
if I'm not making money off of it, etc.) It's pretty smart to attribute it in some
way, but what does attribute mean kind of depends on the context.
I mean, Creative Commons actually has a great page on best practices on how to do it
well, in different places. Here's what it looks like for me, as a teacher:
I often make websites for my students where I'll use a picture, and I'm like,
"Ok, here's a picture that I got, it's Creative Commons-licensed,
I really like it." So I'll put at the bottom of the post something like,
Here's the name of the person on Flickr-- cause I go to Flickr a lot--who took it,
and then here's what it's called, and then here's a link to the Flickr page
where I actually found it. That counts as good enough attribution, to let people
essentially know, "Hey, I didn't make this on my own, I'm not claiming that I
have any rights on it, and look look look look look, you can follow it here,
and that's where you'll get all the info you need. So.
Super quick, super summary: if you're getting something from the
public domain, it's super safe, super easy. Students, use this! Find public domain
pictures and do whatever you want with them! You don't have to worry,
"Can I use it? How do I...?" etc. etc. Super great!
But also, find stuff that's Creative Commons-licensed! Go to Flickr
and choose that! It's super safe as well; you're not going to get in any trouble.
You do have to give credit, though, right? Ask yourself, if I'm giving credit in the
proper way, which is essentially: enough to let people know where it came from,
and who does own it. I mean, you can license your own stuff through
Creative Commons. It's super fun, super fast, super easy.
If you're using copyrighted work, you might think I'm going to say like,
"DON'T USE IT ALL, IT'S BAD." But I'm NOT saying that. I'm saying
you SHOULD use your fair use rights. It is a good and proper and legal thing
to use copyrighted works, as long as you know your fair use ideas.
So know what's more likely to be fair. You can never really know for sure
if it's 100% fair or not, but at least give it a shot. Ok? Ok.