HLTC19: Chronic Diseases

Images can be a great way to spruce up your video, poster, or other creative work and generate interest. When selecting images, it's important to check for any copyright terms or restrictions attached to the image and, where permitted for use, to properly cite the source. 

The Canadian Copyright Act permits the use of copyright-protected images/videos under specific circumstances as outlined in the law’s fair dealing clauses. These exceptions include purposes related to research, private study, education, parody, satire, criticism, review, and news reporting. Despite these exceptions, however, there are still limitations around the extent to which they can be used. Therefore it’s part of your job as a researcher to determine the copyright status of any images/videos you want to include to make sure you have the proper permissions to use them.

Using images that either a) are in the public domain, or b) have a Creative Commons (CC) license can help simplify this process, as these images do not have the same restrictions in place. Below you will find a quick overview of each, as well as recommended resources for locating images.

• Just because you find something on the Internet, doesn’t mean you are free to use it as you wish
• Look for copyright information (who owns the content) and licensing information (the conditions of use laid by the owner or copyright holder)
• Become familiar with Creative Commons licensing and how you can reuse material
• If the copyright and licensing information isn’t immediately apparent on a website, click around and look at links such as “Terms and Conditions,” “Terms of Service,” or “Permissions.” For example, Pixabay indicates how you can use their content in their Terms of Service.
• If the material is in the public domain, look for a clear marking of this
• Do not circumvent technological protection measures (TPM) to access digital content. TPM are used to restrict what users can do with digital material. Examples of TMP include digital locks, digital rights management, and access and copy-control measures like passwords, paywalls, registration keys, time limits (like 48 hour movie rentals), encryptions or scrambling, read-only material, watermarks, or download or copy blocking.

This content was adapted from “How can I tell if content is openly licensed?” in the Open Textbook Toolkit by Katya Pereyaslavska, Laurie Harrison, Mariya Maistrovskaya, Stephanie Orfano, and William Heikoop, which is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, and the “TPM Fact Sheet” by Simon Fraser University, which is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

A public copyright license that allows and enables the free distribution of an otherwise copyrighted work. It is used when an author wants to give other people the right to share, use, and build upon work that they have created. Creative Commons licenses:

• Allow authors/creators to specify who can use the work (commercial versus noncommercial uses)
• Protect people who use or redistribute an author's work from concerns or copyright infringement (as long as they follow the conditions specified by the license)
• Can be applied to all works that fall under copyright, including books, movies, art work, blogs, and images

There are numerous Creative Commons licenses which outline proper use, so be sure to check that you are using the image in the appropriate way. For more information about the various licenses, please see the Creative Commons website.

This refers to creative works such as photographs and other images, books, music, etc., that are not covered by copyright, trademark, or patents. In fact, the public owns these works.  You do not need to obtain permission in order to use these works. There are four main ways that a work enters the public domain:

• The copyright expires
• The copyright has not been renewed
• The creator places it in the public domain
• Copyright law does not protect this kind of work

Before using images, be sure to read any terms of service so that you understand any requirement for crediting the image. If you're unsure about these requirements, contact your Liaison Librarian for help.