COPYRIGHT
Don’t Get Banned Off of Medium for Misusing Creative Commons Images
All the various creative commons permissions explained; you need to know the differences to avoid copyright infringement
Pay attention because this is one of the most confusing things I have encountered over my writing career.
But I took the time to make sure that I understand how Creative Commons rights work, not only because it’s a valuable resource for finding images and videos to use in articles and stories, but because I don’t want Medium to ban my account for using Creative Commons images that I thought were free to use but they weren’t.
To my surprise, I learned that not all Creative Commons images are free and clear to use, especially for commercial purposes, which is what your Medium stories are if they’re behind the paywall.
The kicker is knowing which Creative Commons sources are free to use for commercial and non-commercial purposes and which are not. This is especially important for paid writing work, like here on Medium.
Free Images and Videos
There are several sites to find free-to-use images and videos, but Creative Commons as a source is so confusing that I had to make myself a cheat sheet, but then decided to write it up in a story to share.
Creative Commons (CC) — All the Different Types
Remember, you can’t just use Creative Commons images just because they’re labeled CC. Knowing when it’s ok to use these in writing you’re being paid for (commercial purposes) can be a bit tricky and confusing.
Creative Commons Definitions
You will sometimes see CC images with 0 through 4, along with other codes (as in above chart).
The BY, SA, NC, and ND may be combined with CC-numbered licensed (explained under COMMERCIAL PURPOSES below).
- BY = Author of Image
- SA = Share-and-Share Alike (Use but if you alter, then you must create a CC license and share your alteration under SA)
- NC = Non-commercial (Do Not Use in Paid Writing Articles or Stories)
- ND = No Derivatives (Use but do not alter)
The following can be used for COMMERCIAL PURPOSES
CC0
Images with a Creative Commons Zero license can be used without any restrictions, as all rights are waived.
CC0 1.0
This is universal, dedicated to the public domain with no copyright.
CC 2.0
This is for generic attribution, free to use as long as you give proper credit. By the way, you should give proper credit to any CC or public domain images, even if they do not specify, which is required by Medium.
CC 3.0
This is unported and is basically the same as CC 2.0.
CC 4.0
This one is international and may have some restrictions.
Attributions Broken Down
CC BY
Allows you to use, distribute, remix, tweak, and build upon CC works, even for commercial use, as long as you credit the original creation.
ShareAlike CC BY-SA
Allows you to use, distribute, remix, tweak, and build upon CC works, even for commercial use, as long as you credit the license and new creations under the same exact terms. Wikipedia images are usually under this license.
NoDerivs CC BY-ND
This one means no derivatives and allows you to use, distribute, remix, tweak, and build upon CC works, even for both commercial and non-commercial use, as long as it is left unchanged and credits the source.
Non-Commercial CC BY-NC
Does not allow you to use, distribute, remix, tweak, and build upon CC works for commercial purposes, but it can be used for works you’re not being paid for, but the source must be acknowledged. If you make a derivative, it does not have to be licensed under the same terms.
Non-Commercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SA
This license is the same as Non-Commercial CC BY-NC, except any derivatives must be licensed under the same terms.
Non-Commercial-NoDerivs CC BY-NC-ND
This license allows you to download and share CC works, but NOT for commercial purposes and you must not make derivatives of any kind.
Where to Find Creative Commons Images
- CreativeCommons.org
- Harvard.edu Library
- Online Pictures in PowerPoint (I use this a lot)
Takeaway
So basically, if a Creative Commons image or video is labeled with NC, do not use it on Medium at all. If it has ND, use but do not change the image or video. Images and videos released to the Public Domain are free to use for both commercial and non-commercial purposes without restriction.
Take the time to pay attention. It would be a shame to get banned from using images that you’re not supposed to use. Before I did my research, I thought that as long as an image was in the Creative Commons, I could use it. But that is not the case, and I went back through all of my 100+ stories and changed out any images I had used that weren’t in compliance.
Now I know — and so do you.
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