In general, images copied from elsewhere that are reproduced in faculty/student papers or projects and which are available to only a limited classroom or conference audience, fall within the scope of fair use. Copies of images that are made available for the public at large, for commercial purposes (including publishing), or for an indefinite period of time usually require copyright clearance. Permissions or waivers from the copyright holder(s) and/or owners of the image(s) must be obtained. No matter what the circumstance, images copied from elsewhere need to be properly identified and cited.

The following links connect to information that help you determine whether or not permissions need to be sought.

Developed by the Visual Resources Association, the Digital Image Rights Computator (DIRC) program is intended to assist the user in assessing the intellectual property status of a specific image.  The program functions through a series of query pages, each of which directs the user to provide input about one specific aspect of a given image’s rights profile.