Whether or not you realize it, you’ve stolen before. If you’ve used material off the web for personal benefit and was not given permission by the creator. Then you have stolen copyrighted material.
Sounds scary right?
It is important to realize your rights to web material and with plagiarism looming in the background, it can seem like a daunting and almost unrealistic task.
What is copyrighted material?
Copyright laws begins the moment you create something. For example, if you paint a picture then it is automatically under copyright protection laws. This means that others cannot take your work and use it for personal gain without permission. In short:
- Copyright law protects creators of original material from unauthorized duplication or use.
- For an original work to be protected by copyright laws, it has to be in tangible form.
- In the U.S., the work of creators is protected by copyright laws until 70 years after their death.
Why does it matter?
It is important to give credit where credit is due. Copyrights protect originality and owner’s rights to their work.
Here are 5 tips to get you started
1. Search specifically
One way to get started is to use Google’s Advanced Search to get images you want. Advanced searches allow you to filter images so that you know they are free to use and share. To do this, simply search the kind of image you want. In the example I used below, I googled sunset images and then went to Settings to Advanced Search.
Then once I clicked into Advanced Search, I scrolled down to Usage Rights where I was able to choose from a dropdown menu what kind of filters I wanted.
2. Check existing labels
Another way to ensure you are choosing reusable content for your site is to know and recognize the appropriate labels. Creative Commons is a great place to familiarize yourself with common labels you will see on others’ materials as well as explain what they mean.
3. Go with content from places you can trust
This is one of my favorites. I call this the lazy man’s way. Believe it or not, there are a lot of free websites that offer videos, cartoons, graphics, and other material that is free to use and distribute. Here are a few of those sites:
Pixabay-free images
Pexels– free videos
There are plenty more. Just let Google be your guide!
4. Make your own
This may sound crazy but there are actually some great sites where you can make and edit your own material. Canva and Pilxr are great places you can go to start to create your own content.
5. When in doubt, cut it out
Sometimes you will run into situations where you are unsure about the protection rights to material. If this is the case and you have done everything you can, it is better to go without than to just use it and hope for the best.
What I do
One way that I ensure I am not misusing copyrighted material is that I always know where it came from and to look for labels. I will frequently locate a picture back to its original source if I didn’t already get it from a free site (which I usually do). Most of the pictures I use are either screenshots I took or from Pixabay. Although, I am sure I will make mistakes in the future I try to stay proactive in all of my posts!
Today I am grateful for my best friend and for all the memories we have made!
Bloggle 
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