When you write an essay, for example, you might want to use an image of some kind in your work. Copyright applies to all sorts of images: regular photos, logos, maps, tables, illustrations, models, etc. – both printed physically or published on the internet. If you want to use an image that is not freely available or licensed with a Creative Commons licence you have to ask for permission from the copyright holder to use it.

The library has several image-databases where you can look for images for your essay. There are also external image-platforms where a majority of the images have a CC-licence.

At the library's website you can find links to these resources.

An example of an image with CC0 licence

In these resources you will find images with the Creative Commons licence CC0. This CC-licence indicates that the copyright holder has rejected the copyright of the image or material, which means that you are allowed to use it without even crediting. It might still be useful for other people to know where you have gotten your material from, so we usually recommend that you credit either way. There is no standard for how the reference to an image with a free licence should look, but the aim should be to make it as clear as possible. For material with a CC-licence we recommend including the name, a link to the image, the name of the creator, and the type of CC-licence.

Copyright protected images

If you want to use an image that does not have this type of CC-licence you have to ask the creator for permission. Consider that it might take a while to get this type of permission.

Lost in Sweden's island by @inesdanselme on Unsplash, CC0