Art & Design Fundamentals

Did you know that while there are many tools available for locating great images on the Internet to use in presentations, documents and social media, you need to consider Canadian copyright law before they are used.

It can be tempting to copy and paste an image or photograph you need, but first consider the copyright implications of the image(s) like any other content found online. This means asking questions about your ability to copy the image(s).  

Consider these 6 Best Practices for legally and ethically using images from the Internet:

1. Assume that online content is protected by copyright
2. Consider linking to an image or photograph instead of copying it
3. Use your own photos and images
4. Use Creative Commons-licensed images
5. Use images from stock photo agencies
6. Confirm who owns the copyright in the image

Please review the library's copyright guide for great information on using images in the classroom and online. Also, it's important to be aware of how copyright impacts your own work when students are creators.

Below are commonly used websites to search for collections of art and design images.