How to know if an image is copyrighted.For a few weeks now, you’ve been working on a poster that you would like to use to advertise your new business. To make it more appealing, you’ve seen fit to use images downloaded from the Internet, but you’re afraid you won’t be able to find freely usable ones that aren’t protected by copyright, so you’d like a hand on how to proceed. Well, if you want I’m here, ready to help you!
How to know if an image is copyrighted.
In fact, in the guide you are about to read, I will explain how to know if an image is protected by copyright using some practical tricks and, which could always come in handy, how to find content that can be reused for both personal and commercial projects. You’ll see, succeeding is not impossible at all: you just need to know how to use the means available on the Net in the correct way.
So, may we know what are you still doing standing there? Make yourself comfortable, take all the time you need to concentrate on reading the next paragraphs and, even more importantly, try to put the indications I am about to give you into practice. I’m sure that thanks to my “tips” you won’t have problems understanding if a content is protected by copyright or not. Good luck!
Index
- Know if an image is copyrighted
- Reverse Google Image Search
- Consult the terms of use on the sites
- Do a search on sites that sell photos
- Where to find copyright free images
- Google Images
- Pixabay
- OpenPhoto
- LibreStock
- Unsplash
Know if an image is copyrighted
To find out if an image is protected by copyright , you need to check that the © symbol is present on the content in question and/or in its caption (usually the name of the person or company that owns the copyright is also indicated after the symbol). copy). However, images protected by copyright are not always indicated by the symbol in question, especially on the Internet, and therefore how to find out if they can be used for personal and/or commercial purposes or not? Let me give you some “tips” on this. To find out more, continue reading.
Reverse Google Image Search
Tracing the source from which a photo comes is of fundamental importance to be able to understand if it is protected by copyright or not. How can you trace the original author of an image? For example, trying to take advantage of the reverse search function of Google Images and find out if the photo already appears on some Internet sites.
To use this tool, go to the Google Images home page , click on the camera icon located on the right in the search bar and click on the item upload a file to upload the content of your interest from the computer. Alternatively, you can also search by pasting the link of a photo taken from the Internet into the Paste Image Link text field .
At this point, the service will offer you a series of photos similar to the one you are looking for, in the Matching images section on the right, and links to web pages that integrate an exact copy of the photo of your interest, after clicking on the Find button Image source located at top center.
Try to identify the website from which the image comes and visit it to make sure it can be freely reused in personal and/or commercial projects, perhaps by consulting the terms of use indicated therein, as suggested in the following chapter .
Keep in mind that Google Images is not always able to trace the source from which an image actually comes, which paradoxically could be claimed as “original” even by several platforms, not giving you the possibility to understand if it is copyright free or not. If you have doubts about the rights to use an image, it is better not to use it to avoid running into problems of any kind. If, on the other hand, you want more information on how to use reverse search for Google images, consult this dedicated article of mine .
Consult the terms of use on the sites
If you have managed to trace the source from which the content of your interest comes, everything becomes easier to find out if an image is protected by copyright, as you just need to consult the site’s terms of use to find out if the content is protected copyrighted or not.
How can you locate and consult the terms of use of a website? Usually it is sufficient to scroll to the bottom of the home page of the same and click on the item Conditions of use (in other cases you may find the words Terms of use or Copyright ). On the page that opens, then refer to any prohibitions on the reuse of images and other content on the portal.
If, for example, in the terms of use it is expressly indicated that it is forbidden to reproduce, copy and/or download the images, texts and other contents present in the same, it means that the image of your interest, coming from the site in question , is subject to copyright and cannot be used (unless you request it from the owner and obtain a license for use).
Do a search on sites that sell photos
Doing a search on sites that sell photos can be another way to understand if an image is protected by copyright or not. I know, it’s quite complex to trace an image this way, but it doesn’t cost anything to try!
To proceed, therefore, connected to the main image sales sites (eg Shutterstock , Adobe Stock , iStockPhoto etc.), type in the search form of the portals in question the terms that describe the image you intend to use in your projects and patiently browse the contents that are found to verify the presence of the image of your interest. If the reference portal integrates image search, such as the one described in the chapter on Google , use it to make your search easier.
If you can find the image you were looking for on one of the portals that sell photos among those you’ve consulted, there’s no doubt: the image is protected by copyright.
Where to find copyright free images
If you are reading this part of the guide, you have evidently ascertained that the image you were looking for is actually protected by copyright. If so, don’t despair and find out where to find copyright-free images that might still work for your project.
Google Images
One of the main sites for downloading images to be used freely is the aforementioned Google Images , which allows you to find photos and illustrations distributed under a Creative Commons and/or public domain license that can be reused for both personal and commercial purposes.
To use the service for your purpose, therefore, connected to the Google Images home page , type the keyword relating to the content of your interest using the search bar located in the center of the screen and press Enter on the keyboard.
After completing the above steps, click on the Tools item at the top and select the type of image you want to find from the Usage rights menu , choosing from one of the following options: Creative Commons licenses (if you intend to find images that can usually be used free of charge, but for which the author must be credited, bearing in mind that they may also be subject to limitations relating to the manner or context of use) or Commercial and other licenses(if you intend to find images that have non-Creative Commons licenses and can come from sites that allow you to use them free of charge or from commercial sites that require payment for their use).
After having found the image of your interest, click on its thumbnail , press the Visit button that is shown to the right under the enlarged version of the image and proceed with the download from the website that hosts it so that you can save it from the Internet . right-clicking on it and selecting the Save Image As item from the context menu. Simple, right?
Pixabay
Another portal for downloading non-copyrighted images that I recommend you try is Pixabay . If you have never heard of it, know that it allows you to access a database that includes millions of photos and illustrations to download and freely reuse in both commercial and personal projects.
To use it, connected to the relative home page and type the keyword relating to the content of your interest in the search bar located at the top center.
After carrying out the search, filter the results that have been identified by expanding the All images menu at the top and choosing from the latter one of the following options according to need: Photos , Illustrations , Vectors or GIF . Furthermore, by expanding the Orientation , Size , Date of publication and Color menus you can further refine your search by selecting the parameters you prefer.
Once you have found the image you like best, click on its thumbnail , press the Download button located on the right, select the download format you prefer from the drop-down menu that opens and click the Download button to confirm your intentions of wanting to download the chosen image.
OpenPhoto
OpenPhoto , as its name suggests, is another website that allows you to locate and download non-copyrighted images that can be used in personal and even commercial projects. It works in a similar way to the portals I told you about in the previous lines, so you shouldn’t have any problems using it.
To get started, connect to the main page of the service and browse the images in its database based on their categories, which you can find by going to the Browse tab of the site (e.g. Animals , Colors , Flowers , Food , etc.). Alternatively, you can search for the images by clicking on the Search item located at the top right and typing the terms of reference in the search bar .
After having identified an image of your interest, click on its thumbnail to open it and then click on the link with the photo format (e.g. JPG ) next to the Download item under the content in question, so as to start its download : the photo will be opened in a new browser page and you can save it by right clicking on it and selecting the Save image as item from the context menu.
I remind you that the photos available on OpenPhoto are distributed with various licenses: so always check the possibilities of reuse explained in the Attribution section , which is located at the bottom of the page where the image is located.
LibreStock
Another resource I highly recommend you consider for downloading copyleft images is LibreStock . In case you have never heard of it, it is a real search engine that offers the possibility of identifying with a certain ease images distributed under the Creative Commons Zero license and, therefore, to be reused for both personal and commercial purposes .
To use it, connected to the relative home page , type the search terms that correspond to the content you want to locate in the search bar which is positioned on the left and press the Search button . If you wish, you can also search for content based on the most popular tags of the moment, by clicking on the Menu button located at the top right and then selecting one of the available categories from the menu that opens (e.g. Business , Nature , Food , Computer etc. ).
As soon as you have identified the image that is right for you, click on its thumbnail and start downloading it from the site it comes from: usually just press the download button next to the photo or right-click on it and then Select Save Image As from the context menu. Not complicated at all, right?
Unsplash
I conclude this review by talking to you about Unsplash , which is another useful portal for downloading breathtaking images that can be used both in personal projects and for commercial purposes. Since it offers a catalog full of very high quality images, I’d say let’s see how it works right away.
To begin with, connect to the relative main page , click on one of the categories listed above (eg Wallpapers , Nature , Architecture , Animals , etc.) to locate an image of your interest. Alternatively, you can carry out a direct search by typing the reference keywords in the search bar located in the centre.
When you’ve found the image that’s right for you, pass the mouse cursor over its preview and then click on the button showing the arrow pointing downwards to start downloading the content. Simpler than that?
