Copyright and the Public Domain

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

For a moment, imagine you decide to create a blog about baking and would like to add a photo of a chocolate cake.

The problem is, you don't have one!

You might think you'll search for an image of a chocolate cake, download the first image you see, and then add it to your blog or website.

However, if you do that, chances are that you will be violating copyright law. Yikes! Violating copyright is a form of stealing because you are using someone else's creative work, such as an image or artwork, without their permission. Double Yikes!

So, take a moment to watch this video.

Fortunately, there are images on the Web that are perfectly acceptable for you to download and use on your blog. These images are called public domain images. If an image is in the public domain, it means the artist or photographer has released the image to the public, and you can use it without worrying about copyright infringement.

One way to find these types of images is to go to certain websites that provide a variety of copyright-free images. A few of these websites include the following.

• Pixabay
• Wikimedia Commons
• Unsplash

These websites typically offer photographs, artwork, and even videos completely in the public domain. However, you should check the image's license before using it on your website or blog. The image's license describes how it can be used and whether it is in the public domain. To be extra careful, it would be wise to read the site's Terms of Service (TOS) or Terms of Use (TOU) to ensure you comply with their rules.

Sometimes, an image's license will indicate that it is "Free for Commercial Use. No Attribution Required." This means you can use the image even for commercial purposes in the public domain. "No Attribution Required" means you don't need to indicate from where you got the image. However, citing where you got the image is still good practice, even if the license says you don't need to.

An example of a citation for an image is displayed under the photograph of the chocolate cake below. Take a quick look.

_{"Cake Cakes Chocolate Coffee" by Congerdesign, via Pixabay, is in the public domain.}

Most public domain images have a symbol that looks like the symbol below.

This symbol is usually part of the image's license and means that the owner of the image has released it into the public domain, and you are free to use it on your website or blog. The symbol ©, on the other hand, means the image has copyright and is not in the public domain.

• Now that you know more about copyright and the public domain, are you ready to try identifying some public domain images?

Then move on to the Got It? section.