Graphics/Clip art from tutorials...free to reuse?

May 05, 2012

This really would apply to all products, but I thought of it while playing with/learning Storyline. As I open the tutorials, I typically do a "save as" with the graphic images. Then I recreate the tutorials from scratch.

1. Are these graphics/images copyright-free to use in other work, even commercial work?

2. Has the quality of this "saved as" graphic diminished from the original...since I assume they've already been resized/reformatted in some way.

11 Replies
Simon Perkins

Hi Rebecca

Are you referring to tutorial files that you download to play with (whether they be built by Articulate staff of other community users)?

The use of images, especially for commercial purposes, is a sensitive topic.  Many library sites, e.g. iStock and Shutterstock, offer standard licenses for 'normal' user and extended licenses for anything more commercial, i.e. resale or multi-domain hosting or distribution etc.

If you find images you want to use then IME it's always best to track down the source and any associated rights.

As for quality, I'd imagine the originals could be better in some cases.  Some licenses also dictate how much you can tamper with the image - bit of a pain at times.  I'd also expect several of the republished images to be shrunk - therefore if you need a bigger version then it's best to have access to the original.

Rebecca Fleisch Cordeiro

Hi Simon,

Thanks for responding. I'm actually very aware of copyright issues and fair use. I used to teach a workshop on that. And I recently posted about it here : http://community.articulate.com/forums/p/2911/71511.aspx#71511

Thanks for helping me to clarify my question. I'm referring specifically to clip art in tutorials that are provided by #Articulate. So for example, as I go through the Storyline tutorials:

http://community.articulate.com/tutorials/products/articulate-storyline.aspx

There are a lot of nice pieces of clip art. Perhaps in this instance I need a response from an Articulate staff member. If I don't receive a reply in this post, I'll try pinging someone directly.

TX again!

Steve Flowers

Anything in the Community Downloads section can be used however you'd like (I think reselling as a library would be bad form and likely against some stated rule somewhere).

"Welcome to our community stash of great multimedia files - perfect for the e-learning professional. Check them out, download them and use them; that’s what they’re here for."

Could you post a couple of screenshots of examples of the types of stuff you're seeing in the tutorials you'd like to reuse?

Rebecca Fleisch Cordeiro

Hi Steve,

Yes, tx for confirming about the community downloads. Not only do I think reselling the clip art itself would be bad form, I would never do it, even if it were legal.

So, for example, I did a save as to the trash can an file cabinet in this tutorial
http://community.articulate.com/tutorials/products/create-a-drag-and-drop-interaction.aspx

That's the sort of thing I'm referring to.

TIA

Rebecca Fleisch Cordeiro

ah. ok. so, regarding my question: Is this* public domain? And to clarify: for commercial use. Not to resell the clip art, but to use within courses/project. I always (at least I always intend to) respect others' intellectual property.

*And by this I mean the clip art I/we may come across in the tutorials that are produced by Articulate staff.  Like the trash can and file cabinet.

Rebecca Fleisch Cordeiro

Steve, thanks so much for finding that. I don't use PhotoShop (I think .psd is PhotoShop) but was able to convert it to a .png with Snagit.

So, my question isn't specifically about those 2 graphics. That was just an example (Steve had asked for one) of what I was referring to. I was trying to determine whether graphics from those tutorials are typically public domain. But it sounds like it's a little more convoluted than that. For example: Tom, you're happy to allow use of your stuff, BUT, your tutorials may contain other people's stuff, like the garbage can.

So it seems each tutorial/situation is unique and if I see something I'd like, I should initiate a discussion with the presenter to see what's what, even with Articulate staff tutorials. Yes?

Rebecca Fleisch Cordeiro

Hi Russ,

Conrgrats to you, Phil, and Steve on the book. Thanks so much for sending this along. Definitely adding it to my resource  list. Also was happy to see that the mic you recommend is the one I purchased several years ago, on the recommendation of a colleague. I love the quality of the recording, but this audio recording hardware/software is definitely not my specialty.

Thanks again!

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