Best Practices for Image Use
Image use and permissions can be tricky to navigate so if you are unsure, please err on the side of caution and either refrain from using that image or reach out to a member of the Web team for guidance.
Attribution Is Not Permission
There is a common misconception that you can use any photo as long as you cite the source. This is not true. Even for a nonprofit organization like ASTHO. ASTHO must have the rights to use every image that appears in our products, slide decks, videos, social media campaigns, website, etc. This is non-negotiable and violating this policy can lead to fines and expensive lawsuits.
To be safe, assume that every image you come across was published under an All Rights Reserved license, which restricts rights and usage to the creator of the image, unless it is clearly marked otherwise.
Different Types of Permission
There are several different kinds of image use permissions. As long as an image meets one of them, it is safe to use.
Permissions Conferred by Purchase
Many stock photo sites, such as Adobe Stock and Getty, sell usage rights to their images, but not all licenses are created equal. It is also important to remember that some kinds of use are never permitted (e.g., taking credit for someone else’s work) and some are only permitted with additional licenses (e.g., you can’t turn a Getty stock photo into an NFT without their permission and paying additional fees).
Two common types of purchased image usage rights include:
- Royalty-Free. A royalty-free image is not actually free, it just means that you only need to pay for it once and then you have the right to use it forever, however you would like. ASTHO regularly uses royalty-free stock images.
- Rights-Managed or Rights-Ready. These images are purchased, but they are limited to a specific type of use, time period, or medium. If you are purchasing a rights-managed or rights-ready image, these details should be clearly stated at the time of purchase.
A License Does Not Guarantee Exclusivity
Particularly when dealing with major stock photo warehouses, like Adobe or Getty, buying an image license doesn’t stop others from purchasing that same image. Exclusivity agreements do exist, but they need to be negotiated separately, they are not automatically conferred.
Test Licenses Expire, Your Permission May Also Expire
If you signed up for a free trial and downloaded images during that time, you may lose the rights to those downloaded images when your free trial expires. Read through your free trial license agreement closely to find out if you retain the right to use those photos after the trial has ended.
Works of Art or Commissioned Graphics
Over the years ASTHO staff have worked with outside designers and contractors to create specialized logos, graphics, charts, and the like. These images are all acceptable to use in ASTHO products, subject to the details of the licensing agreement outlined in the original contract.
Public Domain
An image that is part of the public domain does not have any type of copyright or usage restrictions associated with it. Images can be donated to the public domain by the creator, or they can be relegated to public domain if the copyright has expired or never existed. In addition, anything created by U.S. federal agencies are in the public domain.
Creative Commons (or Some Rights Reserved)
Creative commons licenses are sort of a middle ground between All Rights Reserved and public domain. It allows an image to be distributed under a set of specified conditions. There are seven types of creative commons licenses, each of which comes with specific rules regarding attribution, modifications to the image, and commercial use. If you are downloading an image from a creative commons file repository, such as Wikimedia Commons, the type of creative commons license should be clearly marked.
Save Your Sources
A creative commons license is not set in stone. The creator can decide to change the license type at any time, but you are only obligated to honor the rights that were active when you originally downloaded the file. To ensure there is no confusion down the line, it is considered best practice to take screenshots (or collect some other form of evidence) that can prove where and when you sourced the image and what the usage rights were at that time.
Photos of People
Stock images of people are fine to use, but it is necessary to be more careful when it comes to pictures of people from other sources. ASTHO’s Meetings team has begun to build image permission rights into registration forms for in-person events, but if the picture comes from an ASTHO meeting it is still good practice to check with them and confirm that you are allowed to use the image for products.
You will need to get a signed release if a picture of people comes from a site visit or is a candid from everyday life. Use ASTHO’s Photograph/Video/Audio-Video Release Form for this purpose.
Donated Images
You may donate images you have taken to ASTHO for use in current and future products. ASTHO is currently only set up to accept donations of images that do not have identifiable people in them. This means landscapes from a site visit are fine, but a photo of kids playing in a local park is probably not. ASTHO is working with lawyers to create a more comprehensive donation form.
Donations from Members and Partners
ASTHO is not currently accepting donations from our members, their agencies, or other partner organizations. We do hope to be able to accept donations in the future, though.