Setting a good example
It's so easy to do a quick search on Google Images and add that image to a blog post or web page, but we really need to make sure that we're legally allowed to use that image. Since the MIT Libraries do a lot of work with the community to advocate for fair use and proper attribution, we need to set a good example on our own web site.
This page will help you to figure out what images you're allowed to use on the web. You can find images that are available for reuse, or make a fair use case. The boxes below take each of these options in turn.
Images posted openly on the web are not necessarily in the public domain.
To find reusable images:
see also: Finding Images guide
What is Fair Use?
Fair use provisions of U.S. copyright law allow use of copyrighted materials on a limited basis for specific purposes without the permission of the copyright holder.
FACTOR | WEIGHING TOWARDS FAIR USE |
Purpose of use | Nonprofit, educational, scholarly or research use; Transformative use: repurposing, recontextualizing, creating a new purpose or meaning |
Nature or type of work | Published, fact-based content |
Amount Used | Using only the amount needed for a given purpose; Using small or less significant amounts |
Market Effect |
If there would be no effect, or it is not possible to obtain permission to use the work |
It is necessary to weigh all four factors to decide whether a fair use exemption seems to apply to a proposed reuse. Courts take a holistic approach -- they do not simply add up a positive or negative for each factor.
Judges have tended to focus on two questions that collapse the four factors:
To help support a fair use case for an image:
In addition to fair use, consider Using images that are openly available for reuse
Photographs of people may involve rights of privacy or publicity, state and/or federal laws which limit the use of a person's likeness. Consider:
Photographs of works of art may involve the rights of the work's creator/copyright holder. Consider:
Buildings designed after Dec. 1, 1990 are copyrighted. Consider:
A new document by the Association of Research Libraries, the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Academic and Research Libraries, provides new and helpful guidance for interpreting fair use.
Take the Fair Use Quiz to test your knowledge!