Stock Images and Fair Use Copyright for Book and eBooks

There are thousands upon thousands of images one can choose to use in books or to create a book cover. However, before you start grabbing images off the Internet, know your rights and, more importantly, the copyright owners rights.

Is this Image FREE?

As authors, we are highly protective of our literary work. And the thought of someone plagiarizing our written work sends us into a mad frenzy. Yet, many have no qualms about stealing other work.

Just because it is on the Internet does NOT necessarily make it free to use. Unless otherwise stated as pubic domain or royalty-free, it is copyright.

It is a major misconception that the Internet is free and therefore anything on there is free to use. This simply is NOT true. In fact, if you use an image without permission from the copyright owner, it is considered copyright infringement and you could find yourself in very hot legal water.

The Internet is a digital media where the same copyright rules apply as they do for other media (newspaper, magazine, music industry).

Royalty-Free Usage Rights

Royalty-free, or RF, refers to the right to use copyrighted material or intellectual property without the need to pay royalties for each use or per volume sold. (Source: Wikipedia)

Licenses vary between companies, so you are wise to check out the policies prior to use. CanStockPhoto.com, for example, states in their end user license agreement:

Section 4, Permitted Uses

[…]

1. Print media (provided that such use is not intended to allow the re-distribution or re-use of the Content), including advertising and promotional materials, editorial publications, books, magazines, newspapers, and newsletters, provided the aggregate reproduction of any Content is five hundred thousand (500,000) or less;

2. Ebooks, including multi-seat license electronic books, provided the aggregate reproduction of any Content is five hundred thousand (500,000) or less;

3. Multimedia presentations, including film and video presentations, and broadcast and theatrical exhibitions;

4. Internet, intranet, online or web-based media, provided the resolution of the Content does not exceed 0.48 megapixels (equivalent to 600×800 pixels);

What this is saying is that if you plan to use the image on your website, on the Internet or other web-based media then you cannot use it any larger than 600 x 800 pixels.

Ebooks are NOT a web-based media. They are electronic books.

I inquired to CanstockPhoto.com to make sure I understood their policy on using images for book covers. They responded in less than 12 hours:

You may use the image as large as you would like within the ebook – our size restriction only pertains to web use.

Duncan

Can Stock Photo Support

The 10% Change Myth

I rarely use an image “straight out of the box.” Meaning, I do some form of manipulation, whether it be using a Photoshop filter, knocking out the background or modifying the color balance. This has nothing to do with the 10% Myth, making the image mine after I modify it.

Some people think that if they change a certain percentage of a pattern they avoid infringement. However, it is not what is changed that is relevant, but whether or not the part that remains, and that is copied, is an important or distinctive part of the original work. (Source: Australian Copyright Council)

According to the U.S. Copyright office: Only the owner of copyright in a work has the right to prepare, or to authorize someone else to create, a new version of that work. Accordingly, you cannot claim copyright to another’s work, no matter how much you change it, unless you have the owner’s consent. See Circular 14, Copyright Registration for Derivative Works.

More Reading

US Copyright Office Fair Use