Is it legal to use Google images in our projects

Question

Can I use Google images in my projects ?
Can I upload this project on YouTube?

Answer 1

I assume that you mean pictures found and displayed by Google search engine.
Google is "only" cataloguing all the information it finds on the internet. Google does not own the right to those images, and always links to the source where the image is located.
If you want to use those images in your own content, you should look at the source of the image, the webpage where they were originally posted. Legal terms of copyright can be quite complicated and daunting. The "default of the internet" is that any digital content you create, image, video or audio, you own the copyright to it, meaning that other people are not allowed to reuse or distribute it. However some people are more allowing and give different licences, for example Creative Commons license on their digital media, for easier reusability. Usually this comes with the condition that the original source must be indicated (you cannot pretend that an image found online, is your own creation).

Answer 2

Sarthak Kumar ,

To be safe, do a search for the term,

royalty free images

to find sites for exactly that.

Answer 3

Just make sure about the licenses and give proper credit to the sources of the image if it is allowed to be repurposed. Use can use some sites like freepik, pixels etc. to get images.

Answer 4

And an additional complexity of the ownership rights, is from the fact that people who share content on social media such as Youtube or Facebook, relinquish some of their rights, for example the online service will be allowed to display the content, along with advertisement, or even delete it. If you want to publish something on Youtube, you need to carefully study their own rules and guidelines for content creation, including digital content attribution, and forbidden words and topics (for example extreme violence and gore). There are many automated censorship methods in place which can delete your content, mute your music, or suspend your account if some of those guidelines seem to be violated (and sometimes these algorithms are really hypersensitive and block more than needed...)

Answer 5

Sarthak Kumar Hope these articles will be helpful for you :

https://correctdigital.com/can-you-take-photos-off-google-for-your-website/

https://www.copyrightlaws.com/copyright-tips-legally-using-google-images/

https://support.google.com/websearch/thread/2596608/faq-permission-to-use-google-images?hl=en

Answer 6

Mirielle ,

Public Domain is not a place. It's a copyright status. Just because an image or any work is on display doesn't mean it's in the public domain. Piracy is rampant. One person asks how to be careful. That's great. Don't tell them to just ignore it.

Answer 7

https://www.pexels.com
https://www.pixabay.com
https://www.unsplash.com

Pictures here are free to use.

Answer 8

Mirielle ,

OK. Let's define terms. This quote is from copyright.gov, a definitive source.

"""
Where is the public domain?
The public domain is not a place. A work of authorship is in the “public domain” if it is no longer under copyright protection or if it failed to meet the requirements for copyright protection. Works in the public domain may be used freely without the permission of the former copyright owner.
"""
https://www.copyright.gov/help/faq-definitions.html

Answer 9

Mirielle ,

You're not alone. Many, if not most, people probably don't care about copyright. I choose to support the few who do care by relaying the best information I can find.

I speak as a victim of copyright theft of musical works, written works, and code.