What Images Don't Require Permission?
Public Domain Images
Public domain encompasses material for which no one owns or controls. Public domain is based on the year of publication, the type of material, who published the work, and other criteria. Some works in the public domain include works published before 1923 and works produced by the federal government. However, in all instances of public domain works it is essential to confirm that the image and not just the text is in the public domain.
To determine if a work is in the public domain, see the slider tool.
For more information on public domain see Stanford’s Copyright Overview
To check for copyright renewal see Stanford’s Copyright Renewal Database
Licensed Resources with Images
Some of the resources JCU owns have available images for educational purposes. Material in OhioLink’s Electronic Journal Center and Electronic Book Center also allow educational use of images and materials.
Creative Commons Licensed Images
Creative Commons Licenses allow copyright holders to make their work available to the public with certain limitations. There are six creative commons licenses (Attribution, Attribution Share Alike, Attribution No Derivatives, Attribution Non-Commercial, Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike, and Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives), but all of them allow for the use of materials in an educational context as long as proper citation is included.
The Copyright Holder has made Images Available
Occasionally, copyright holders may specify that the images or materials be freely available. This will often appear with the copyright information at the bottom of the text, and as long as the text specifies that the intended use is allowed, the image may be used. (Some websites also specify that certain uses are allowed in their terms of use. For example images may be available to use for educational purposes, and the site may provide a required citation or information that is necessary to include in the citation.)
Be aware that there is not a database or site where these types of materials are gathered. Rather, the allowance is attached to images, articles, and books that you may be searching.
What Images Do Require Permission?
Images from a website, book, or journal that JCU does not have access to or any copyrighted materials that do not fall into the above categories require permission.
Keep in mind:
● Obtaining permission can take up to 6 to 8 weeks!
● Permissions are generally granted for a limited amount of time; so, remember to specify the length of time you wish to obtain permission for the images in the request. However, some publishers only grant permission as a onetime use.