How Do The Licenses Work
Check out this infographic by adityadipankar for a quick intro to the various types of Creative Commons licenses. If you are interested in learning more about these licenses, CreativeCommons.org offers more information.
All Creative Commons licenses require attribution to the creator. If you are interested in more information about best practices for providing attribution, Creative Commons Australia has created a handout with detailed information about proper attribution practices.
Key Features Of Public Domain Images
- Ability to use the image any way you want : Public domain images wont have any usage restrictions. You can sell them, edit them, redistribute them, use them in your web app, etc. The only restrictions youll have are laws and regulations that your government has. For example, lets say that for some strange reason your country doesnt allow you to use photos of butterflies or images of trees youll bear the repercussions of that violation, not the creator or provider of the work.
- No attribution required: Some free images you find on the Web will demand that you link back to the sites where you got them from. A proper public domain image wont require you to acknowledge the creator or source of the work.
- Truly free: For the sites mentioned in this article, you will be able to download public domain images from them at no cost. Note that some stock photo sites sell public domain images they either charge a monthly fee or charge you a certain amount per download but I wont be talking about those here.
Wikipedia: Public Domain Image Resources
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Public domain image resources is a copy of the master Wikipedia page at Meta, which lists a number of sources of public domain images on the Web.
Public Domain images should be marked with the Public Domain Mark 1.0. Public Domain Mark enables works that are no longer restricted by copyright to be marked as such in a standard and simple way, making them easily discoverable and available to others. The Public Domain Mark is recommended for works that are free of known copyright around the world. These will typically be very old works.For a creator to release his/her works into the public domain legally they must use the creative commons CC0 license which gives creators a way to waive all their copyright and related rights in their works to the fullest extent allowed by law.The presence of a resource on this list does not guarantee that all or any of the images in it are in the public domain. You are still responsible for checking the copyright status of images before you submit them to Wikipedia.
Please read the policy on image use and etiquette at: Wikipedia:Image use policy.
See also:
- Image upload page for registered users
- FIST Free Image Search Tool
You can use CCSearch to search for freely licensed images across many of the image sources listed here.It can also help with finding freely licensed animations, audio and videos.
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What Happens If You Use An Image Without Permission
If its copyrighted, you could be sued if you use it without permission. They copyright pictures that they take, and what they do is, theyll get a copyright on it, and theyll put it out on the Internet, and its freely available on the Internet. If you run a Google search their image will appear.
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Finding Public Domain Images With Google And Bing
People often turn to search engines when they would like to find images to use public domain images are no different. On the other hand, wed like to advise you to practice caution here even more so than usual.
Search engines are not bulletproof when it comes to showing you images properly labelled as copyrighted or being in the public domain. We suggest you do your due diligence and click through the filtered results and do some of your own research on the site where the certain image is displayed and see if it can be used and under what conditions.
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What Is The Public Domain
Reusing copyrighted images can be tricky. Sometimes it can be considered fair use, and sometimes it can be copyright infringement. In the U.S., it depends on things like what portion of the work is used and whether the new work is sufficiently transformative.
You can sidestep these issues entirely by using public domain and CC0 images in your artwork.
- public domain: This refers to creative works which are free of copyright restrictions, often because the copyright has expired. Work in the public domain can be used for any purpose, including commercial purposes, with no permission or credit necessary.
- CC0 : A tool by which the copyright holder waives their rights to the work and releases it into the public domain. Just like with public domain works, CC0 works can be used for any purpose.
Unlike with copyrighted works, these images can be freely used as the focal point of an artwork without fear of committing copyright infringement.
How Do You Know If Something Is In The Public Domain
Works can be part of the public domain in three instances:
- Their copyright has expired. In the United States, any work published anywhere in the world prior to Jan. 1, 1923, is in the public domain. Other countries may follow different policies on length of copyrights.
- They were released into the public domain by the copyright holder. In such cases, the copyright holder needs only release their work with an accompanying statement releasing all rights to the work. Images licensed under the Creative Commons CC designation are released to the public domain.
- They are ineligible for copyright protection. In the United States, works created by a government agency are not eligible for copyright protection and can be used by the public. Content that does not rely on human creativity is also ineligible for copyright. A list of bare facts will belong to the public domain, while an article based on those facts and an infographic referencing them are both copyright protected.
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Where To Find Public Domain Images
Now, the good part. These websites all specialize in copyright-free images, including things like illustrations, photographs, and maps.
Are there any other resources we should include here? Let us know! And dont forget, if you find these images useful in your work, the people who create and maintain these resources always appreciate a donation.
My Top Site For Public Domain Images
Part of me wants to keep these wonderfully curated collections to myself but Id be doing you a huge disservice. Aiming to give everyone access to the best public domain creative resources Raw Pixel scan and enhance high resolution images from antique books, plates and museum collections ensuring each image is 100% copyright free for personal or commercial use . There are bigger collections out there but none come close to matching their Apple-like ease of use and thoughtful design. Public Domain Gems is a good place to start while Artist Collections feature 20th century masters like Cézanne, Gaugin and Van Gogh or explore the Animal Kingdom via some incredible illustrations from the 19th century and beyond. Collage artists and scrapbooking enthusiasts, welcome to your new home.
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Tips For Using Free Public Domain Images
- Be careful of images with people in them. When a in it, that person may have rights to privacy thats provided by his/her country. As Ive alluded to earlier, youre responsible for making sure that you use a public domain photo in lawful and ethical ways.
- Consider providing attribution even though youre not required to. Though attribution is not needed for public domain images, most of the site owners and creators work hard to provide us with these wonderful resources. They will still appreciate it if you link back to their site to acknowledge their work. I recommend doing this whenever possible.
Copyright Vs Public Domain
Images that are not in the Public Domain are protected by Copyright Law. The Fair use exception allows for a limited use of images for educational purposes without obtaining permission from the copyright holders. Some copyrighted images may be offered for reuse under a Creative Commons license which grants permission to the public to access, share and reproduce those works. There are several different Creative Commons licenses that may be applied, so be sure to check what uses the license allows. In addition, some of the sources below may contain both public domain and Creative Commons images so it is important to check the terms of use of each image.
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Sites With Free Public Domain Images For Commercial Use
It is extremely difficult to find a good free image. Majority of the images on the internet are extremely common and have been used a thousand times before. If you use royalty-free image sites such as iStockphoto or Shutterstock, your path is very clear. Purchase the rights and use the image without regard for attribution or permission.
However, if youre looking for a free image for commercial or non-commercial use, it can be difficult to find a good one and even more difficult to understand the image usage rights.
How To Cite Public Domain Images
Citing public domain images is not a legal requirement however its common practice to give attribution by displaying some details of the images, including:
Its always recommended to check if the source of the given public domain images has set any rules or requests to follow regarding attribution. For instance, the Getty Search Gateways digitalised art pieces belong to the public domain but are asked to be credited.
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The Best Museum Collections
Ordered by the number of public domain images in each online collection.
over 3,000,000 images
Launched in February 2020, Smithsonian Open Access came late to the public domain party but was truly worth waiting for. The worlds largest museum now has the worlds largest library of public domain images. Not only is it the biggest image resource for artists its also assigned every image a Creative Commons Zero license. In other words, knock yourself out use the images however you want. No worries over attribution, selling your art or legal stuff. Theyre all yours. Not only that, every image is available at high resolutions that are perfect for printing beautiful prints. Open Access has clearly been a labour of love from the Smithsonian team. Dont miss over 2,000 interactive 3D models of everything from the Apollo 11 Command Module to a wooly mammoth skeleton. Its intuitively easy to search, filter results, browse categories and unlike many other public domain collections it also works just as well on mobiles as it does on desktops. Bravo Smithsonian, this is wonderful. Visit Smithsonian Open Access
over 2,200,000 imagesover 1,900,000 imagesover 1,400,000 imagesover 1,200,000 imagesover 1,000,000 imagesover 1,000,000 imagesover 950,000 imagesover 700,000 imagesover 550,000 imagesover 400,000 imagesover 260,000 imagesover 180,000 imagesover 150,000 imagesover 100,000 imagesover 90,000 imagesover 70,000 imagesover 50,000 imagesover 50,000 images
How To Find Public Domain Images: 15 Valuable Websites
1. PublicDomainArchive
PublicDomainArchive is a great source of professional-level public domain images. New photos are added regularly, which keeps the sites content fresh. The website is managed by Matt Hobbs, a professional web designer and photographer.
2. Pixabay
Pixabay is easy to use: The site has a good search feature and multiple options for exploring its content. All the images on Pixabay carry the CC0 1.0 public dedication license.
3. The Public Domain Review
The Public Domain Review is an online publication dedicated to the subject of the public domain. They have over a hundred collections of public domain images, with each collection having numerous images and containing a description about the body of work.
4. Unsplash
On Unsplash, you have more than two million free images to choose from. Unsplash is a project originally created by Crew, an online marketplace for creative talent.
6. PDPics
PDPics has a collection of over a thousand public domain images organized into 18 categories, such as Animals, Food, Technology and so forth.
7. Picdrome
Picdrome is a collection of photos in the public domain. The images are licensed under CC0 1.0 and arranged in categories such as Nature and Textures and Backgrounds.
8. Smithsonian Open Access
9. Pexels
Pexels is a stock website that offers free images and videos for use in your projects. The team at Pexels asks that you dont redistribute or sell the photos or portray people in the content in an offensive way.
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How To Find Public Domain Images
Finding public domain images online require attention and caution. Even though their very nature is about free access and unrestricted use, the vast quantity of images online will make it particularly difficult to find the ones that can truly be used without restrictions under the public domain.
Therefore, as a number one rule: always be vigilant if you want to use public domain images. Make sure to read the terms and conditions and data policies of all sites stating the availability of public domain images . Before you take any action, check if no changes have occurred to the required means of use or even on the sites where you sourced public domain images previously.
Photo by Firmbee.com
Below we listed some sites where public domain images are available however on some of them you may also find images that are not in the public domain , therefore always follow their own guidance to only download and use the ones marked accordingly.
In other cases, some restrictions can also apply such as the prohibition of selling images without modification or using images with identifiable brands to create a misleading association with a product or service .
Welcome To The Public Domain
The term public domain refers to creative materials that are not protected by intellectual property laws such as copyright, trademark, or patent laws. The public owns these works, not an individual author or artist. Anyone can use a public domain work without obtaining permission, but no one can ever own it.
An important wrinkle to understand about public domain material is that, while each work belongs to the public, collections of public domain works may be protected by copyright. If, for example, someone has collected public domain images in a book or on a website, the collection as a whole may be protectable even though individual images are not. You are free to copy and use individual images but copying and distributing the complete collection may infringe what is known as the collective works copyright. Collections of public domain material will be protected if the person who created it has used creativity in the choices and organization of the public domain material. This usually involves some unique selection process, for example, a poetry scholar compiling a bookThe Greatest Poems of e.e. cummings.
There are four common ways that works arrive in the public domain:
- the copyright has expired
- the copyright owner failed to follow copyright renewal rules
- the copyright owner deliberately places it in the public domain, known as dedication, or
- copyright law does not protect this type of work.
Contents
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Free Public Domain Images For Commercial Use
You might need some breath taking images to represent your online business, but unfortunately all those images which are of high demand and capable to draw the eye of people are asking for royalty treat. In order to use these images one have to pay a royalty fee, only then he or she could be able to use them. But now you have no need to worry about this fact, as multiple number of royalty free images for commercial useare available on various domains, whose purpose is to provide free assistance to people. You can easily use these images to make a good impression of your business. It does not mean that these free images are of inferior quality owing to no royalty charges. These are shared by passionate people on free image sharing sites, who do not interested in money in return of their services, they are doing this just for the sake of their passion.
List of Sites which offer Royalty Free Images
1. Pexels
If you are looking for images which reflects professionalism in them, pexels cannot be replaced by any other site. The quality and resolution of the pictures speaks for itself that they are clicked from professional cameras.
2. Negative Space
Uniqueness is bliss, and if you also believe in the same philosophy, negative space is designed for the people like you. Every week they will provide you some new unique pictures, this way they are helping people who love to distinguish their work from others.
3. Skitter Photo
5. IM Free
Public Domain Images #: Abandoned Copyright
The copyright owner can abandon all rights to their work in two cases:
Its worth knowing that copyright abandonment cannot happen by accident, it must be intentionally expressed by the original copyright owner. Furthermore, copyright relinquishment also means that the former owner cannot bring a claim of copyright infringement against anyone using that specific work.
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