Image Copyright Basics: What You Can and Cannot Use on Your Website

Image copyright violations are one of the most common and most avoidable legal problems for website owners. Downloading a photo from Google Images and using it on your website can result in a formal legal demand and a settlement fee — even for small personal websites. Understanding the basics takes 10 minutes and can save you significant trouble.

How copyright works for images

In most countries, copyright protection is automatic. As soon as a photographer takes a photo, they own the copyright — without registering it, without adding a copyright notice, without doing anything at all. The copyright belongs to the creator by default.

Using a copyrighted image without permission is infringement — regardless of whether you:

• •Found it on Google Images
• •Found it on a website without a visible watermark
• •Credited the photographer
• •Used it for non-commercial purposes
• •Didn't know it was copyrighted

"Found on Google" is not a license. Google Images indexes publicly accessible images; it doesn't provide rights to use them.

Types of image licenses

All rights reserved: The copyright holder retains all rights. No use is permitted without explicit written permission. This is the default for all photography.

Commercial license / rights-managed: Permission to use the image is granted under specific terms — often for a specific duration, medium, geographic region, or number of impressions. Stock photo sites like Getty Images, Shutterstock, and Adobe Stock operate on this model.

Royalty-free: Despite the confusing name, royalty-free doesn't mean free. It means you pay once and can use the image without paying ongoing royalties. Most stock photo subscriptions are royalty-free.

Creative Commons licenses: A range of open licenses that grant various permissions while retaining some rights. Key types:

• •CC BY: Use freely with attribution
• •CC BY-SA: Use with attribution; derivatives must use the same license
• •CC BY-NC: Use with attribution; no commercial use
• •CC BY-ND: Use with attribution; no derivatives
• •CC0: Public domain dedication — no rights reserved, no attribution required

Creative Commons licenses are real legal licenses. Read the terms carefully — CC BY-NC images cannot be used on a commercial website even if you credit the photographer.

Public domain: Copyright has expired (generally works published before 1928 in the US) or the creator has explicitly dedicated the work to the public domain (CC0). Truly free to use for any purpose.

Safe sources for free images

Unsplash (unsplash.com): High-quality photography, free to use for commercial and non-commercial purposes without attribution (though attribution is appreciated). No account required to download.

Pexels (pexels.com): Similar to Unsplash. Free for commercial use, no attribution required by the license.

Pixabay (pixabay.com): Photos, illustrations, and vectors. Free for commercial use under their Pixabay License.

Wikimedia Commons (commons.wikimedia.org): Large collection of public domain and Creative Commons images. Check the specific license on each image — they vary.

Freepik (freepik.com): Free tier requires attribution; paid plan removes this requirement. Good for illustrations and vectors.

Your own photography: The safest option. You hold the copyright.

AI-generated images: Images generated by AI tools (Midjourney, DALL-E, Stable Diffusion) currently exist in a legal gray area in many jurisdictions regarding copyright ownership. For commercial use, check the terms of service of the specific tool used.

Common mistake: embedding without downloading

Some website owners embed images using their source URL from another website (hotlinking) thinking this avoids copyright issues because they're "not copying the file." This is incorrect — displaying a copyrighted image on your website infringes the copyright regardless of how the image is served.

What to do if you receive a copyright claim

If you receive a DMCA takedown notice or legal demand:

1. 1Remove the image immediately. Don't wait while you research whether the claim is legitimate.
2. 2Respond professionally to the demand if a response is requested.
3. 3Don't argue that you "found it on Google" or "gave credit" — these are not defenses.
4. 4Consider whether a settlement is appropriate before escalating — legal defense costs often exceed settlement amounts for small claims.
5. 5Use a reverse image search (Google Images, TinEye) before using any image to check its origin.

Practical summary

When sourcing images for your website:

1. 1Use Unsplash, Pexels, or Pixabay for photography.
2. 2Take your own photos whenever possible.
3. 3If you need specific imagery, purchase a stock license from Shutterstock, Adobe Stock, or similar.
4. 4Never download from Google Images and assume it's usable.
5. 5For Creative Commons images, read the specific license — they're not all the same.