Obtaining Copyright Permissions
- Overview
- Licenses
- Identifying Copyright Holders
- Textual Works
- Images
- Musical Works & Sound Recordings
- Films
- Dramatic Works
Copyright Questions
The University of Michigan Library Copyright Office provides help with copyright questions for University of Michigan faculty, staff and students.
Email copyright@umich.edu with questions or visit our website for more information.
Legal Advice
The information presented here is intended for informational purposes and should not be construed as legal advice. If you have specific legal questions pertaining to the University of Michigan, please contact the Office of the General Counsel.
If you require legal advice in your personal capacity, the lawyer referral services operated by the Washtenaw County Bar Association and the State Bar of Michigan may be helpful to you.
When to Seek Permission
Remember that you do not need permission if you are using something that is not copyrightable or is in the public domain. You also don't need permission if you are using it in a way that does not implicate one of the rights of copyright holders or is permitted by a user’s right, such as fair use. For more information on these topics, please consult Copyright Basics.
Reverse Image Searches
Because images are so often published without attribution, it can be especially difficult to locate their copyright holders. If you have an image you would like to license but need to identify and contact the copyright holder, a reverse image search engine may be helpful. You can use a reverse image search engine to find out where an image came from, where it is being used, and whether higher resolution or modified versions of the image exist.
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Google Reverse Image SearchTo search by image with Google, click on the camera icon in the search bar. You will be prompted to provide a URL for the image or upload it.
Sources of Publicly-Licensed Images
The sites below offer images that are licensed for reuse or are in the public domain. The Images research guide provides a more comprehensive list of such sites.
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FlickrFlickr is an online image-sharing service. Users who upload to the site can license their images under one of the Creative Commons licenses, and Flickr allows users to search through these images based on the licenses applied to them. Note that many photographs on Flickr are under copyright and have not been licensed under any open license.
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PixabayPixabay is an online image-sharing service that focuses entirely on images dedicated to the public domain under the Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication (CC0).
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The Noun ProjectThe Noun Project hosts a collection of black-and-white icons licensed under one of the Creative Commons licenses or the Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication. Downloading these icons requires users to register for an account with the site.
Art Museums With Open Access Policies
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British Museum Copyright and PermissionsUnder its copyright and permissions policy, the British Museum releases certain content on its website under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International license.
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Brooklyn Museum Copyright PolicyUnder its copyright policy, the Brooklyn Museum licenses images in which it holds rights under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license.
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Los Angeles County Museum of Art Terms of UseUnder its terms of use, the Los Angeles Country Museum of Art provides high resolution images of items from its collections that it believes to be in the public domain, for use free of charge and without restriction.
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Metropolitan Museum of Art Open Access PolicyUnder its open access policy, the Metropolitan Museum of Art dedicates to the public domain the images of works it believes to be in the public domain.
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National Gallery of Art Open Access PolicyUnder its open access policy, the National Gallery of Art (US) provides access to images of works it believes to be in the public domain and permits their use free of charge for any purpose, commercial or non-commercial.
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Victoria & Albert Museum Terms of UseUnder its terms of use, the Victoria & Albert Museum permits users to make certain non-commercial uses of material from its website and from its online collections.
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Walters Art Museum Policy on Digital Images of Collection Objects UsageThe Walters Art Museum has dedicated its images of its public domain artworks to the public domain using the Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication.
Image Collections Licensed by the University of Michigan Library
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JSTOR / ImagesUse JSTOR Images Tab to search over one million images, including former Artstor content.Requires University logon for off-campus access. To save image groups, register at the site using your umich email address.
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Artstor Across DisciplinesA Research Guide developed by Artstor with helpful suggestions for finding and using images across disciplines.
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Bridgeman EducationA growing database of over 3,000,000 digital images from museums, galleries, private collections and contemporary artists all copyright cleared for educational use.
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JSTOR Primary SourcesA portal to three collections of primary source materials: one of 19th c. British Pamphlets, one of World Heritage sites in Africa, and one of political struggles and independence movements in S. Africa.
Collective Management Organizations for Stock Images
Some of these images are "free" -- for others there is a fee. "Royalty-free" means that you don't have to pay royalty fees for use, but you may still have to pay a fee for the image. Visit these sites with caution as the pop-up ads can be invasive and read the fine print before you use any image.
For a recent overview of over 100 stock photo and license free image sites, with an emphasis on Creative Commons and Public Domain images, see this article by Jason Acidre: 100+ Free Presentation Tools: Stock Images, Fonts, Cliparts, & Infographic Sites.
Collective Management Organizations for Fine Art
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Art ResourceArt Resource licenses “[h]igh quality images of works of painting, sculpture, architecture and the minor arts” from museums and archives around the world.
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ARTstor Images for Academic Publishing (IAP)ARTstor's Images for Acacdemic Publishing program provides “free print-quality images for use in scholarly publications.”
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Artists Rights SocietyArtists Rights Society is a major US collective management organization for visual artists. It represents over 80,000 visual artists and estates of visual artists from around the world.
Collective Management Organizations for Comics & Cartoons
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Andrews McMeel SyndicationAndrews McMeel offers one-time and reprint rights as well as extended licensing for products and merchandise. Its catalog includes comics (such as Calvin and Hobbes, Doonesbury, and For Better or For Worse) as well as editorial cartoons (from cartoonists such as Tom Toles and Lalo Alcaraz).
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The Cartoonist GroupThe Cartoonist Group licenses comics (including Bizarro, Pickles, and Zits) as well as editorial cartoons (such as those by Ann Telnaes and Matt Wuerker).
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CartoonStockCartoonStock licenses comic and editorial cartoons. Its catalog can be searched by subject or artist.
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Creators SyndicateCreators Syndicate licenses editorial cartoons, including those by Mike Luckovich and Bob Gorrell. It also licenses comics, including The Wizard of Id and Agnes.
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EToon.comEToon.com licenses cartoons and stock images. Users can search its catalog by subject.
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King Features LicensingKing Features Licensing manages the rights to several comic characters, including Popeye, Blondie, and Dennis the Menace.
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New Yorker Cartoon BankConde Nast licenses cartoons from The New Yorker on this site.
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Tribune Media SyndicateTribune Premium Content’s comics catalog includes Annie, Dick Tracy, and Love Is…. Its editorial cartoonists include Scott Stantis and Dan Wasserman.
Books About Licensing Images
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Permissions, A Survival Guide: Blunt Talk About Art as Intellectual Property by Susan M. BielsteinISBN: 0226046370Publication Date: 2006The University of Michigan Library holds physical and electronic copies of this book. This link is for the electronic copy.
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Licensing Photography by Richard Weisgrau; Victor S. PerlmanISBN: 1581154364Publication Date: 2006