It’s tricky to find appropriate, usable images for e-learning projects. And sometimes after you’ve found the right photo, it’s unclear whether you can legally use it.
Images are protected by c...
Updated 2 months ago
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What about if you are using an image to educate your own employees? Is that considered fair use?
- No. Fair Use is a limited exception to the general rule that a copyright holder has the right to exclusive use of the copyrighted work. I would also question the author's description of creating a new work from a copyrighted work. A copyright holder owns that work AND any derivative works. It is best to find images that have been released to public domain or have been specifically released for your use by the copyright holder.
- Hi Paul. Thanks for weighing in. I thought you might be interested in seeing this example where a derivative work was protected by Fair Use! https://fairuse.stanford.edu/2014/12/22/much-photo-need-alter-avoid-copyright-infringement-hint-cheshire-cat/
- Thanks Trina. Very nice reference. Much appreciated! It is true that creating a completely new work ( such as a t-shirt as in the case you cited) from the original (photograph) allows for Fair Use when the use of the new image is not a substitute for the original. In the context of using online images in eLearning, I personally think it's probably best not to assume that modifying a digital image allows for Fair Use of the modified digital image. Especially when you ask whether you are only modifying the image to avoid the copyright.
