Free to Use or Share: Images, Audio, & Video : Images
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Copyright law allows for some uses of otherwise protected materials. For more information about how and when you might make a "fair use" of copyrighted materials, see this fair use information page.
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This page provides links to search engines that include images--ranging from clip art to photos to sophisticated digital artwork-- that can be REUSED, REVISED, REMIXED, or REDISTRIBUTED more freely than can materials limited by default copyright protection.
Images found in these resources may be in the public domain because they don't qualify for copyright protection (eg. U.S. government documents) or because the copyright protections have expired. Alternatively, they may be explicitly licensed by their copyright owners (through Creative Commons, GNU, or other formulations) for free use and distribution.
Search for images you can use...
Not all images in these resources will be available for REUSE, REVISION, REMIXING, and REDISTRIBUTION.
- CIA World FactbookPublic domain images related to the history, people, government, economy, and geography. Particularly useful are maps and images of flags.
- FlickrAn online photo management and sharing application. Many Flickr users have chosen to offer their work under a Creative Commons license, and you can browse or search through content under each type of license.
- Google Image Advanced SearchIn the advanced search, you can limit the results of your Google Image search to materials you can use, share, or modify beyond what's allowed through existing copyright law.
- MorgueFileCommunity contributed photos intended for use in other creative works.
- openclipartDatabase of clip art with both vector and bitmap images available for download--especially useful for icons and symbols.
- Reusable ArtA collection of public domain images for crafters and web designers that have been rescued from old books, magazines, and other print materials.
- Wikimedia CommonsA database of millions of freely usable media files including diagrams, illustrations, photos, and more.
- WorldIMagesProvides access to the California State University IMAGE Project. It contains approximately 100,000 images, is global in coverage and includes all areas of visual imagery. *No commercial use*