Where can I find images that are not subject to copyrights (rights
protected) that can be reproduced for a website?
Does 'royalty free' mean that you can use a photo as many times as you
want without a fee?  Is there an ongoing fee for 'royalty free'
images?  And any other information you have on this topic w/be
appreciatedd.

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Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 19 Nov 2004 12:03 PST

cedjsw-ga,

You've asked about two very different things:

1.  Getting images you can use on your website

2.  Background information on "royalty free".

You might want to post these as separate questions.  It would be a lot
of work to answer both, and a researcher may feel capable of answering
the first, but not the second, or vice-versa.


Just a suggestion...

pafalafa-ga

short answer: anywhere it doesn't say "copyright", and especially
where it says "free clipart" :)

Just becuase a copyright notice is not posted does not mean that the
image is for the taking.

First, please ignore xpertise.  He or she is flatly wrong.

Second, the only way you can be sure that you are not infringing a
copyright when you publish pictures on your web site is if (1) you own
the copyright; (2) you have an actual license (permission) from the
copyright owner; (3) the material you reproduce is in the public
domain; or (4) your use is clearly a fair use.  Thus, if you go out
and search the web looking for images you can use, it is VERY LIKELY
that you will be infringing copyrights if you reproduce those images
on your site unless you can fall into one or more of these four
categories.  The best course is to look for a site that expressly
states that the images on that site are available for downloading and
reproduction and the owner/owner of the copyright grants you a royalty
free license to do so. Anything short of that is risky.

You have correctly inferred that "royalty free" may have different
meanings, and it does, depending on the scope of the license grant. 
If I grant you a royalty free license to publish an image one time on
your web site and you publish it 1,000 times in a magazine, you have
exceeded the scope of the grant and you will owe royalties on that
excessive use.  That is why you need to read and understand the
granting language in the copyright license that gives you the
reproduction rights and see how the license defines "royalty free."

Also, many times "royalty free" actually means that you pay a one-time
upfront fee and then after that there are no additional royalties due.
 Stock photo shops like comstock.com
(http://www.comstock.com/web/default.asp) often work that way.  So if
you want a source of images for which you pay absolutely no money at
all, that will be tough to find.  Better you take your own photos at
that point . . .