Copyright Basics
- What is Copyright?
- What does UK law have to say about Copyright?
- Do you need to include the copyright symbol for a work to be protected by copyright?
- What is a license?
- What are creative commons licenses?
- What other sources of copyright free images are there?
- Creative Commons symbol
- Searching for Creative Commons licensed images using Google Image Search
What is Copyright?
Copyright is a legal right that protects original creative works.
It means that only the creator (or the individual or organisation that owns the rights) has the right to copy, use, or sell that work and that if you want to make use of that work, you will usually have to get their permission in one form or another.
What does UK law have to say about Copyright?
In the UK, copyright is an automatic right afforded to creators of literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works, meaning you do not have to register the work for it to be protected.
Copyright gives the creators exclusive rights over the distribution, sharing and use of their work. This can include control of copying, adaptation, sharing, performance and broadcasting of their work by others. In giving permission for the use of their copyright protected work, creators can be entitled to receive royalty payments and this permission is given through a licence agreement.
In the UK, copyright is only created if the work is tangible or fixed in some kind of material form. Ideas cannot be given copyright protection, but the material expression of an idea can be protected. For example, the idea for a website cannot be copyright protected, but the website itself can be.
Do you need to include the copyright symbol for a work to be protected by copyright?
No.
As copyright protection is granted automatically when a creative, original work is made. A © symbol is not a requirement for protection but instead can be a useful tool for asserting copyright - showing that an author is aware of, and has an interest in, their rights as a copyright owner.
In some cases, it may be a contractual requirement with a rights holder, that you display a copyright credit line including the use of the © symbol.
But just as you don’t need to add the © symbol to your works to assert copyright, if you don’t see a © symbol attached to something you want to use you still need to get permission to reproduce it.
What is a license?
Obtaining permission is often called “licensing” - when you have existing permission to use something, you are said to have a “license” to use the work.
For example: NHS Staff often have access to digital tools that come with large banks of images. The purchase of these tools usually includes permission to use these images and so the reuse of images does not need explicit permission as there is already an existing license.
What are Creative Commons licenses?
Creative Commons licences are standardised copyright licences which grant permission to use copyright works, in accordance with the particular standard set of conditions selected by the copyright owner (“licensor”). They are useful for people wishing to allow others to use their works, as well as people who wish to find content that they can use for different purposes.
You can find out more about CC at www.creativecommons.org
In practice where one finds the CC symbol attached to a work this indicates that the copyright owner has pre-emptively given permission for the use or reproduction of their work with only a few limitations or conditions attached which are usually indicated by abbreviations.
There are six main Creative Commons licenses made up of some combination of the following conditions.
Attribution (BY) - present in all CC licenses - that is you must credit the creator of the original work
ShareAlike (SA) - that is you must share your work with the same limitations or freedoms that the copyright owner has shared theirs
NoDerivatives (ND)- You must not make any changes to the work you are copying. If you wish to adapt the work in the presence of this condition you should seek additional permission
NonCommercial (NC) - You cannot use the work commercially without seeking additional permission.
You'll find further detail on how to apply Creative Commons licenses to the work you produce on our “Ownership and sharing - the NHS Context” page
What other sources of copyright free images are there?
Wikimedia Commons is a media file repository making available public domain and freely-licensed educational media content (images, sound and video clips) to everyone.
Creative Commons Search offers a convenient way of searching for content created under a CC licence across search services provided by other independent organizations such as Flickr, YouTube and Google Images.
Google Image Search also includes within its tools options a filter that allows you to see only images which are shared under Creative Commons Licenses. You'll find detail on how to use this option a little further down the page
Images and other materials shared via Creative Commons licenses still come with conditions which should be checked but they are not commercial licenses and should your intended use fall within the terms of the license then additional explicit permission is not required.
Creative Commons symbol
Where you see this symbol a copyright owner is indicating to you that they are sharing their work using a Creative Commons license.
In effect the copyright owner has pre-emptively given permission for the use or reproduction of their work with only a few limitations or conditions attached which are usually indicated by abbreviations.
You should still check the details of the license they are utilising before reusing their work.
Searching for Creative Commons licensed images using Google Image Search
To search for Creative Commons images on Google Images, enter your search term, click on "Tools", go to "Usage rights", and select "Creative Commons licenses". This filters results to images that are generally free to use, but be sure to check the specific license for each image - some may require attribution, restrict commercial use, or prohibit modifications