Navigating the world of image copyright
The online world is awash with beautiful pictures, but using an image without permission can have serious legal and financial repercussions. Before using any image, you need to check its copyright information.
Every image is copyrighted
But how to tell if an image is copyrighted? Legally speaking, every work is copyrighted from the moment of its creation. Therefore, the short answer would be: yes, it is copyrighted since every image is copyrighted (with some very rare exceptions). Where you might need help though, is checking who owns the copyright, in order to first contact them for permission to use the given image. You are in the right place to get proper guidance.
How to check the copyright for an image
The first step is to ascertain the correct owner of an image, and there are a number of ways to do this. Here’s our handy 5+1 guide for checking image copyright:
Look for an image credit or contact details
If you find an image online, look carefully for a caption that includes the name of the image creator or copyright owner. There may also be an email address or link to the image owner’s website. Using that info, you can contact the image owner to request to use their image by purchasing a license or coming to an agreement on the terms of use.
Look for a watermark
A watermark on an image is a clear sign that the image is copyrighted. Often, the watermark will contain text that indicates the name or company to whom the image belongs: do some googling and find out. Under no circumstances should you attempt to use software to strip the image of its watermark. This demonstrates clear and wilful intent to infringe copyright.