Library: Plagiarism: Using Images

Images

You might think to yourself that it is okay to use an image you found on the internet for your assignment.

Did you know that you may need to cite that image or it can be considered plagiarism? These popular activities are considered plagiarism:

Making a video using footage from others' videos or using copyrighted music as part of the soundtrack.
Copying media (especially images) from other websites to paste them into your own papers or websites.
Composing a piece of music that borrows heavily from another composition.
Performing another person's copyrighted music. (i.e., playing a cover)

These tend not to fall under the Creative Commons License. Which is essentially open access photos, meaning anyone can use them.

However, images should always be cited.

Information directly from Plagarism.org

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons is a non-profit organization that is trying to create more creative works (i.e., images) that are available for others to use and share legally.

Not all images you see online or in books are freely available for you to use, you made need to verify the licensing.

Creative Commons
Creative Commons helps you legally share your knowledge and creativity to build a more equitable, accessible, and innovative world.
Creative Commons Zero (CC0)
This short document provides information about what a Creative Commons Zero license is and how it pertains to images that you may want to use.
CC: About The Licenses
Creative Commons provides a great read about understanding what the licenses do and about the different types.

Resources

Here is a short list of some resources where you can find open access images.

Coverr
Free videos that you can use. It is licensed under Creative Commons Zero.
Creative Commons Search
The Creative Commons Search searches images that are under the creative commons license. It will search YouTube, Flikr, and more.
*Please note that it is not a search engine, but rather offers convenient access to search services provided by independent organizations.*
Flickr: Creative Commons
Many Flickr users have chosen to offer their work under a Creative Commons license, and you can browse or search through content under each type of license.
Google Advanced Image Search
You can use the Advanced Image Search by Google to find images that you can freely reuse. To show "free to use" images scroll down until you see "Usage Rights" and click on any of the "free to use" and then proceed with your search.
Pixabay
All images and videos on Pixabay are released of copyrights under Creative Commons CC0. You may download, modify, distribute, and use them royalty free for anything you like, even in commercial applications. Attribution is not required.
Unsplash
all photos published on Unsplash are licensed under Creative Commons Zero which means you can copy, modify, distribute, and use the photos for free, including commercial purposes, without asking permission from or providing attribution to the photographer or Unsplash.