- Regarding Images and Audios Used for Advertising
- Most images, audios, and texts you can find on a search engine such as Google are copyrighted. If you use them without copyright holder's permission, you may violate their copyrights. Please pay close attention when you use images, audios, and texts for advertising.
- Options in Using Images and Audios
-
- Create an original file (take photos, draw images, record audio, etc.)
- Use public domain materials
- Purchase copyright or license permission
-
We also recommend you to obtain a permission from your photographic subject if you're taking photos of individuals or other's property.
Even if you choose Option 2. or 3., there may be some restrictions and rules on use. Please refer to the copyright holder's website and original source for the details.
The following is a glossary of terms related to copyright. Please use this as a reference and discuss individual cases with professionals.
- What is a Creative Commons (CC) License?
- Creative Commons License is initially released by Creative Commons, a non-profit corporation, and shows the rules on the use of copyrighted material, including restrictions on use, copyright holder's credit attribution, and derivative work. Authors of copyrighted work may use Creative Commons icons to show their rules on use of copyrighted material.
- References :
-
- What is Credit/Attribution?
- Attribution is used to acknowledge credits to the authors of copyrighted work. In some cases, Creative Commons icons are listed next to credits to show some restrictions on use. When you see the websites that offer a list of image and audio files to download, you may find a specific attribution sample such as below on Help or FAQ pages. In most videos, the authors of music and artwork, models, and creators are listed on the credit section at the end.
- (Attribution Sample 1)
-
Music: "Tra-la-la" by Podington Bear
From the Free Music Archive
CC BY NC
- (Attribution Sample 2)
- Music: http://www.bensound.com
- Copyright Royalty and License Fees
-
Royalty and license fees are the fees paid to the authors of copyrighted work. Payment due, frequency, and amount are decided by the agreement between copyright buyers and auhotrs. Most online artwork marketplaces have the information of royalty and license fees on their websites, so you can follow the procedures listed there. However, when you use other artworks that are not listed on the marketplaces, you need to consider the following and make agreement with authors.
- Is it a one-time fee? Are there any additional fees?
- What are the limitations of the rights? Is it a whole or partial right?
- Is it an exclusive usage? Can others use the same copyrighted material?
- Are the fees same for individual and commercial use?
- Can I edit the copyrighted material?
- What is Royalty-free?
- Royalty-free materials can be used without paying royalty or license fees within the rules and regulations set forth. Copyrighted material becomes royalty-free when authors are giving up their copyrights or copyrights expire after a certain time period after author's death. Some royalty-free materials have limits in the usage and for the purposes of use that users need to follow.
- References :
-
- What is Public Domain?
- Public domain materials are those which are not protected by intellectual property rights. For example, the copyrights of classical music may have expired after 50 years from author's death and related rights owned by third parties such as performers, engineers, and sellers may have also expired after a certain time. Once the copyrighted materials become public domain, anyone can use them for free. Nevertheless, keep in mind that the copyright and intellectual property right laws differ by country and region as well as the definition of public domain.
- Reference :
-
- Examples of Public Domain :
-
Image
Audio
- What is Commercial Purpose?
- Limitations of copyrighted materials may differ by the purpose of use (personal or commerial use). For instance, license fees may be charged for the commerial use of a given artwork, but they may be free for personal use. People define "commerial use" differently, yet in general, advertisement is considered as commercial use.