If you are using images (including photographs, diagrams or illustrations) in your work and you choose to publish or distribute your work, you need to consider whether the images in your work are copyright compliant. Sharing your work on a website is considered publishing, so you need to think about the images you use if you are:
This short video looks at five ways on how to include copyright compliant images in your thesis or other work you might choose to publish.
You can use an image if:
If you create your own images, you own the copyright. For example:
As the copyright owner you can decide how you want to share your work, and how you would like others to reuse it.
Encourage others to attribute the image to you, by including:
Other methods that discourage reuse without attribution are:
For more information see the Right of Copyright Owners webpage.
If copyright has expired, then images are considered to be in the 'public domain' and can be used by anyone without seeking permission from the copyright owner. Even if copyright has expired on an image, you still need to attribute the creator.
Finding out if an image is still in copyright can be quite difficult. You may need to do some detective work. Some basic guidelines are:
Photographs:
Artistic works (such as cartoons, drawings, models and sculptures) where creator is known:
Creative Commons images have been licensed by the creator of the image so they can be used for a variety of purposes. Using Creative Commons images is one alternative to using copyrighted images. There are some restrictions, depending on the license type that has been chosen, and you must always provide credits for the creator of the image. The Copyright Office has created a guide to help you locate Creative Commons licensed images using Google - Searching Google for Creative Commons images.
The fair dealing provision allows the use of material under certain circumstances without seeking permission from the copyright owner.
More information can be found on the Copyright Office's Fair Dealing page, or you can contact the Copyright Office directly.
If you would like to use an image which is still within copyright you will need to seek permission from the copyright owner.
For example, here is an email requesting permission to reproduce a photograph:
You will need to keep a written record of permission and all communications. In the written permission you should ensure there are full details of the proposed use and any future uses. This includes the where, why, how, and for how long.