Using images found online: copyright and Creative Commons

Finding images online and incorporating them into a website or marketing material is tempting, but these works are most likely protected by copyright. Using them without authorisation constitutes infringement. The public domain and Creative Commons licences offer lawful alternatives.

The author’s rights over photographs

Moral rights (disclosure, attribution, integrity, withdrawal) are perpetual and inalienable (Articles L121-1 ff. of the French Intellectual Property Code). Economic rights (representation, reproduction, resale, distribution) may be assigned (Articles L122-1 ff.). It is the economic rights that determine whether a third party may use the work.

Term of protection

Moral rights are perpetual. Economic rights are protected for the life of the author and 70 years after death (Article L123-1). After this period, the work enters the public domain, subject to respect for moral rights.

Creative Commons licences

Creative Commons licences allow authors to make their works available under predefined conditions. The CC0 licence is a near-public-domain dedication (only moral rights survive). The CC-BY, CC-BY-SA and CC-BY-ND licences permit commercial use with varying degrees of freedom (mandatory attribution, modification permitted or not, sharing under the same licence). For open-source software licensing, see the article on open-source software. For an overview, see the intellectual property services page.

Conclusion

Images found online are not free to use by default. Creative Commons licences offer a lawful alternative. If you are unsure about using a visual, book a call.

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