G08: Design Graphic Design: Usage Rights

It is essential that our students are able to communicate digitally and visually. However, this also means we need to ensure that students really understand copyright, fair use, creative commons, and public domain. There is a pervasive feeling that anything on the Internet is free, it’s not. If you did not write it; If you did not take the picture; If you did not create it: IT IS NOT YOURS.

This story originally ran on PR Daily in July 2013. What’s lamer than a crappy photo of Nebraska? Having to pay $8,000 in copyright infringement penalties for it.

As our students create more and more digital products—blog posts, videos, podcasts, e-books—they should be using images to enhance them. Images grab an audience’s attention, they can illustrate key concepts, set a certain tone, and present a more complete understanding of the ideas you’re putting out there.

And the internet is absolutely teeming with images students can grab and use in a matter of seconds. But in most cases, they SHOULD NOT GRAB. Despite the fact that these images are easy to get, using them may be illegal.