You love the new presentation philosophy of including large imagery to complement your main points. But where do you go to obtain images? Immediately, you navigate to your browser’s search bar. You Google “elephants” and a myriad of images show up on your screen.
It’s easy to download the image and insert it onto a PowerPoint slide, however, it could cause more problems than you might imagine. Using copyrighted imagery could result in immense fines and unnecessary legal battles. Shephard Fairey learned the importance of sourcing after he became entrenched in a conflict with the Associated Press. Freelancer Mannie Garcia took a photo of then-senator Barack Obama that was published in the New York Times in 2006. Two years later, Fairey used the image as inspiration for his “Hope” poster. Although the case didn’t make it to court due to the completion of a private settlement between Fairy and the AP, Garcia made a plea to artists to ask permission to use images others have taken and to give the appropriate credit.
What is copyrighted imagery?
There are 4 factors you can evaluate to determine whether an image you want to include in your deck could be grounds for copyright infringement.
1. Purpose and character
2. Nature of the material
3. Amount of work used
4. Effect on the value of the material
By meeting the “Fair Use” standard, your use of an image would be legally in the clear. Precedent on these types of cases is varied and somewhat inconsistent, so many judges are hard-pressed to apply it. According to law professionals, a company or individual would most likely receive a cease and desist letter prior to any matters going to court.
How should you source imagery?
Now that you know the gamut of materials and uses that could be cases for copyright infringement, let’s determine how you should source the imagery you put in your presentations.
First, you’ve got to discover who created the work you are hoping to upload onto your slide. Second, you need to check the license of the image. Many images you may encounter will have a Creative Commons license, but there are varying levels to this license. Some versions of the license require slide attribution. Make sure that you cover all of your bases before pasting an image to your slide and sharing the presentation with your audiences.
Where can you find safe imagery?
If you don’t want to go through the hassle of acquiring permission to use a copyrighted image, there are a ton of resources and alternatives out there. Check out some of our favorites:
Presenters and presentation designers could also produce their own imagery. This is a great option for companies and agencies with in-house design professionals or a dedicated third-party vendor.
With the Fair Use guidelines in mind, you will be prepared to create presentations without fear of abusing the copyright on another person’s work. You will save your company and yourself a significant amount of time and resources, as well as enhance the peace of mind of all parties.
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