Including media like photos, videos, and audio is a great way to enhance your website, but what if you didn’t take the photo or record the audio? Copy and pasting an image or video may seem like a simple way to make your site better, but that photo, song, or video is someone else’s intellectual property and you usually need permission to use them on your site.

Copyright and Fair Use #

When creating a website, understanding copyright and fair use is essential. Copyright is part of the intellectual property law in the United States that grants creators exclusive rights to their works, such as photos, videos, and music. However, the fair use doctrine allows limited use of copyrighted material without permission for specific purposes like criticism, commentary, news reporting, teaching, and research. For example, using a short clip from a video for a review or incorporating a few seconds of a song in a news report might be considered fair use.

Considerations for Fair Use:

• Purpose and character of the use (e.g., commercial vs. non-commercial).
• Nature of the copyrighted work.
• Amount and substantiality of the portion used.
• Effect on the market value of the original work.

It’s important to evaluate each case individually and obtain necessary permissions or licenses when using copyrighted media on your website to ensure compliance with copyright laws and avoid legal issues.

Public Domain and Creative Commons #

You may we wondering if there are ways to legally use creative works without worrying about copyright issues and the answer is yes! There is both public domain and creative commons.

Public domain refers to works that are free from copyright restrictions, meaning anyone can use them without permission. These works can be freely accessed, used, and modified by anyone for any purpose. Public domain status can occur when copyright expires, or the creator explicitly dedicates the work to the public domain.

Creative Commons is a non-profit organization that provides licenses to help creators share their work while retaining some rights. These licenses allow creators to specify how others can use their work, such as allowing non-commercial use or requiring attribution. Creative Commons licenses range from very permissive (allowing almost any use) to more restrictive (limiting commercial use or modifications). This system helps creators share their work more freely while protecting their rights. You can learn more about the creative CC license options on their website. It is impota

Finding Media #

There are a lot of ways to discover options for public domain and creative commons licensed things, but we recommend these guides and searching platforms:

• The DKC’s Free Media Resources — An organized collection of sites for photos, videos, and audios, all free to use!
• Creative Commons Search Portal — The Creative Commons organization’s helpful database which allows you to search through CC licensed media for images, video, music, 3d models, and more.
• Wikimedia Commons — Wikipedia’s collection of free, public media that anyone can use.

Attribution and Crediting #

Once you find the media you want to use and add it to your project, it’s time to give credit where credit is due. Some licenses don’t require you to give attribution but it is good practice to give it anyway when you can. Generally speaking, attribution must reasonably include all relevant information that was requested in the license type. Further guidance on recommended best prcatice for attributions can be found on the Creative Commons site.

Want More Help? #

• Book an appointment with a consultant at the DKC. We would love to help you find media for your projects!
• Check out our Free Media Resources List. 

Written by Haley Gosman 2/14/25