Visual Arts Librarian
Fair Use
Within the Copyright Act, there are certain circumstances under which it is permissible to reproduce or display copyrighted works without the permission of the copyright owner. These circumstances are known as "fair use" standards. The fair use standards, embodied in section 107 of the Copyright Act, are:
- The purpose and the character of the use, including whether it is for commercial or non-profit educational purposes
- The nature or type of the copyrighted material (i.e., periodical, film, book, etc.)
- The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the whole
- The effect of the use on the potential market for or value of the copy-righted material
Other Considerations for images
- Creative or factual use of the image
- Image is altered or changed
Recommendations
- Use public domain images
- Get the license or permission to use the work
- Look for a statement of permissable use, or a credit line from the creator or copyright holder
For more information, consult the sites below:
- Art ResourceArt Resource is the world's largest fine art stock photo archive, with more than 1,000,000 searchable fine art images from the world's leading sources, available for licensing to all media.
- Artists' Rights SocietyArtists Rights Society (ARS) is the preeminent copyright, licensing, and monitoring organization for visual artists in the United States. Founded in 1987, ARS represents the intellectual property rights interests of over 50,000 visual artists and estates of visual artists from around the world.
- Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Academic and Research LibrariesThe Association of Research Libraries (ARL) presents a clear and easy-to-use statement of fair and reasonable approaches to fair use developed by and for librarians who support academic inquiry and higher education.
- Creative CommonsCreative Commons is a nonprofit organization that enables the sharing and use of creativity and knowledge through free legal tools. Creative Commons licenses are not an alternative to copyright. They work alongside copyright and enable you to modify your copyright terms to best suit your needs.
- Visual Resources Association Statement on the Fair Use of ImagesIn depth discussion of using images for teaching, research, and study.
Free Stock Image Sites
- New York Public Library Picture Collection OnlineThe Picture Collection Online is an image resource site for those who seek knowledge and inspiration from visual materials. It is a collection of 30,000 digitized images from books, magazines and newspapers as well as original photographs, prints and postcards, mostly created before 1923.
- VADS: the online resource for visual artsThe Visual Arts Data Service (VADS) has built up a considerable portfolio of visual art collections comprising over 100,000 images that are freely available and copyright cleared for use in learning, teaching and research in the UK.