It’s said that a picture is worth a thousand words.
If you have a blog or website, you probably spend a good deal of time crafting your post or writing content.
You may look for photographs that will finish off the page. You wouldn’t be the only blogger or website owner using public domain images on your web pages and blogs.
photo credit: Magic Lantern Shows
Public domain images are pictures – either drawn or photographs – that are not protected by copyright laws.
While it would be great if everything you find on the internet were in the public domain and freely available for use, that isn’t the case. You may have to do some research to determine whether an image or images you’re interested in using on your blog or website are in the public domain or not.
Prior to 1989 an author or photographer had the option of copyrighting their work. Since 1989 everything released or published is automatically copyrighted unless the creator of the work decides to allow the work to be in the public domain. However, don’t assume that things aren’t copyrighted if they don’t have a notice on them; they aren’t required by law any longer.
How do you find out the copyright status of an image or photograph? Almost all photos or clipart you find on the internet are copyrighted, even if they say they are “free.” If a picture is listed as royalty-free it means that the owner or copyright holder will allow you to use their photographs free of charge, but may require you to link back to their website or give them credit of some type.
When you’ve found the picture or pictures you’d like to use for your website or blog, can you tell if it is in the public domain?
- Most photos created by the United States government, unless otherwise noted, are in the public domain.
- If a photo was published prior to 1989 and does not have a copyright notice, you can assume it is now in the public domain because the copyright probably expired by now.
- All photos that their copyright has expired are available for use by anyone. To know if you can use a photo, you must know when it was published to determine if the copyright has expired or not.
- You find the photo on a site that specifies that it is part of the public domain and you are free to use it in any way you like. Check around to find a statement that it is available to the public domain to be sure.
Any photo with an identifiable person in it that you find and want to use in a commercial manner, no matter if it’s public domain images or not, it is best to find out who the person is and contact them to get permission to use it. If the person has passed away, do not use their picture for commercial means to avoid any liability problems.
About The Author:
 Debra Conrad is an online entrepreneur, information publisher, and author that has been using Public Domain material to create profitable products and businesses since 2007. She is also co-author of "The Public Domain Treasure Hunter's Survival Kit" available here. For more info Debra, click here. |
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