Image Use Rights
Some Adobe software, services and applications include integrated image search features, which let you search for images or other content on websites like Google, Flickr, 500px, Pixabay, Unsplash, the Noun Project and GIPHY and import them directly into your own project or workspace.
To help our users respect the intellectual property rights of other photographers and creative professionals, we typically incorporate Creative Commons filters to help ensure that we return only image results from these other websites that have been tagged as licensed “for commercial use with modification.” This means you should be able to re-use an image you find this way, for personal or commercial use, as long as you:
- Verify that the licence label is legitimate;
- Check the exact terms of re-use stated in the licence (for example, most licences require that you give credit to the image creator); and
- Comply with the licence 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, check the copyright laws of your own country to make sure your use is in conformance with them.
Adobe has no way of knowing whether the Creative Commons or other licence information conveyed by Google, Flickr, 500px, Pixabay, Unsplash, the Noun Project, GIPHY or others is accurate. That’s why you need to follow up with the person who posted the image and confirm the accuracy of the licence information yourself.
In some limited circumstances, we return all image results as the default — as opposed to only content tagged as Creative Commons licensed. For example, GIPHY content does not have Creative Commons filters (see below for GIPHY licensing information). It is still your responsibility to make sure you use other people’s content in a manner consistent with applicable copyright laws.
To learn more about usage rights, you can review the licensing information available on the following pages:
Thanks for respecting the rights of creative professionals everywhere.
The Adobe Copyright Agent