Some of our online services, software and touch tool applications include integrated Google or Flickr® image search features, which let you search for images on or through those web sites and import them directly into your own project or workspace.
To better help our users ensure they respect the intellectual property rights of photographers and creative professionals everywhere, we typically incorporate Google and Flickr Creative Commons filters to ensure we return only those image results that are labeled as licensed "for commercial use with modification" – i.e., this means you should be able to reuse an image you find this way, for personal or commercial use, as long as you:
- verify that the license label is legitimate;
- check the exact terms of reuse stated in the license (for example, most licenses require that you give credit to the image creator), and
- comply with the license terms.
Alternatively, you might explore whether your intended use fits within the fair use exception to copyright laws. Or, if you are outside of the United States, you should make sure you check the copyright laws of your own country and ensure your use is in conformance with them.
In some limited circumstances, we will return all Google or Flickr image results as the default – as opposed to only content tagged as Creative Commons licensed. We do this only where the intended and likely use of the application or service is to create something that is inherently or almost certainly fair use. When we return all images, instead of just a subset, we’ll let you know through the labels you’ll see at the top of your image results. But it is still your responsibility to make sure you use other people’s content in a way that is consistent with applicable copyright laws.
Adobe has no way of knowing whether the license information conveyed by Google or Flickr is accurate. That’s why you need to follow up and confirm for yourself!
To learn more about usage rights, you can read about Creative Commons licensing here, review Google’s information about usage rights here, or review Flickr’s Creative Commons page here.
Thanks for Respecting the Rights of Creative Professionals Everywhere!
The Adobe Copyright Agent
Flickr is a trademark of Yahoo! Inc.. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
