What is copyright?

Copyright is a legal term used to describe the rights that creators have over their literary and artistic works. It applies automatically under law to any creative work including books, paintings, music or photographs. Although there are no universal international copyright laws, each country has its own law or laws to protect the copyright status of a work. These give the copyright holder control over how and whether their work can be copied, reproduced, altered or distributed.

What are the rules for using photographs or images online?

The internet is awash with images and it’s very easy - and tempting - to simply pick one you’d like to use. However, doing so could lead you to violate copyright. Some creators charge a fee to use their images. Others make their images free for public use, but often with some specific terms of use that you need to follow. For example, you may need to credit the photograph and/or include the title of the image. Some creators permit you to change their images in an editing programme, while others do not. Some may specify that their images are not available for ‘commercial use.’ This is particularly important for Mobile Stories because Mobilestories.com is considered a commercial platform, so such images would not be permitted within a Mobile Stories article.

Where can I find images to use?

Below are some options for finding free images you can use in Mobile Stories articles. Please ensure you always include a creator credit for any image you use, even where the licence does not require you to do so. It’s a good habit for any journalist.

CREATIVE COMMONS 

Creative Commons is a way of sharing digital material, such as images, online through different licences.

How to use this website: 

1. Go to https://search.creativecommons.org/.

2. You will then come to a page called “Openverse” where you can search for Creative Commons images to use.

3. Type a word in the search field and then press "Enter" to see the list of results.

4. Make sure you tick the  "Use commercially" box on the far right. 

5. Click on the image you are interested in. Below the image you will find the heading "Credit the Creator" and a field showing the credit format to use if you choose to use the image.

6. Select "Plain text" under the title to include the link to the licence.

7. Click "Copy".

7. Paste the text in the caption field when you upload it to your article on Mobile Stories.

​PIXABAY 

All images with a Pixabay licence are free for commercial use, which means they can be used on Mobilestories.com.

If you find an image on Pixabay that you want to use, click on the image and then find the creator’s name on the user account at the top right. If the creator hasn’t shared their name, you can use their username.

How to include the photographer's name: IMAGE: Name Surname/Pixabay 

UNSPLASH

This website has lots of high-resolution images. Not all of the images are free to use. 

1. Search for a keyword related to the topic of the photo you want to find. 

2. Under the search bar, press on the button that says “Licence: All” and change it to “Free”.

To credit the creator, use the format: IMAGE: Name Surname/Unsplash. If you can't find the name of the creator, it's fine to include a username instead or write it like this: IMAGE: Unsplash.