{"id":11538,"date":"2021-03-15T08:49:56","date_gmt":"2021-03-15T12:49:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/?page_id=11538"},"modified":"2025-11-18T09:33:27","modified_gmt":"2025-11-18T14:33:27","slug":"stock-photo-licenses-explained","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/userguide\/media\/images\/stock-photo-licenses-explained\/","title":{"rendered":"Stock Photo Licenses Explained"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Most SOM Images Fall Into Two Categories<\/h2>\n<p>For most School of Medicine websites, images will typically be either be:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Departmental images<\/strong> \u2014 photos created or owned by your department, with permission from individuals (when applicable).<\/li>\n<li><strong>Royalty-free stock images<\/strong> \u2014 purchased or downloaded from a reputable provider (such as Adobe Stock) that grants broad reuse rights under a royalty-free license.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>These two categories cover nearly all image needs across SOM sites.<\/p>\n<hr  style=\"margin:40px 0\"class=\" rule-thin osc-rule\" \/>\n<h2>Royalty-Free (RF)<span style=\"color: inherit;\">\u00a0License<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><strong>\u201cRoyalty-free\u201d does <em>not<\/em> mean \u201cfree.\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0It means that after paying a one-time fee or subscription, you can legally use the image multiple times without additional payments, within the terms of the license.<\/p>\n<hr  style=\"margin:40px 0\"class=\" rule-thin osc-rule\" \/>\n<h2>Creative Commons (CC) Licenses<\/h2>\n<p>Creative Commons licenses allow public use of copyrighted works under specific conditions. You don\u2019t need to ask permission, but you must follow the license terms exactly.<\/p>\n<p>Even under Creative Commons, the creator still owns the work. If you use an image outside its allowed terms, you can be held liable for copyright infringement.<\/p>\n<p>Common types include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>CC BY<\/strong> \u2013 Attribution required<\/li>\n<li><strong>CC BY-SA<\/strong> \u2013 Share-alike (you must share adaptations under the same terms)<\/li>\n<li><strong>CC BY-NC<\/strong> \u2013 Non-commercial use only<\/li>\n<li><strong>CC BY-ND<\/strong> \u2013 No derivatives (you cannot modify the image)<\/li>\n<li><strong>CC BY-NC-SA<\/strong> \/ <strong>CC BY-NC-ND<\/strong> \u2013 Combinations of the above<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr  style=\"margin:40px 0\"class=\" rule-thin osc-rule\" \/>\n<h2>Creative Commons Zero (CC0)<\/h2>\n<p>A CC0 license dedicates a work to the public domain as completely as possible. You can copy, modify, and distribute it \u2014 even for commercial use \u2014 with no attribution required (though crediting the creator is still a best practice).<\/p>\n<hr  style=\"margin:40px 0\"class=\" rule-thin osc-rule\" \/>\n<h2>Public Domain<\/h2>\n<p>Public domain images are free of copyright restrictions either because their copyright has expired or the creator has waived all rights. They can be used, shared, and modified freely. However, rules vary by country, so always verify that the image is truly public domain before using it.<\/p>\n<hr  style=\"margin:40px 0\"class=\" rule-thin osc-rule\" \/>\n<h2>Safe Image Use Checklist<\/h2>\n<p>Before adding any image to your website:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Confirm the license type \u2014 even images from the same site may have different terms.<\/li>\n<li>Check whether credit or attribution is required.<\/li>\n<li>Verify that the license allows modification or cropping if needed.<\/li>\n<li>Keep records of your license agreements or receipts for any purchased images.<\/li>\n<li>Use clear, descriptive alt text to make your images accessible.<\/li>\n<li>When possible, use your own departmental photos or images from approved stock libraries like Adobe Stock.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr  style=\"margin:40px 0\"class=\" rule-thin osc-rule\" \/>\n<p><strong>Note<\/strong>: <strong>Rights-Managed (RM)<\/strong> and <strong>Editorial Use<\/strong> licenses are rarely required for School of Medicine websites, so they are not covered here.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Most SOM Images Fall Into Two Categories For most School of Medicine websites, images will typically be either be: Departmental images \u2014 photos created or owned by your department, with permission from individuals (when applicable). Royalty-free stock images \u2014 purchased or downloaded from a reputable provider (such as Adobe Stock) that grants broad reuse rights &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/userguide\/media\/images\/stock-photo-licenses-explained\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Stock Photo Licenses Explained\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3206,"featured_media":0,"parent":14703,"menu_order":5,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"layout":"","cellInformation":"","apiCallInformation":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-11538","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","odd"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Stock Photo Licenses Explained - Web Guide<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/userguide\/media\/stock-photo-licenses-explained\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Stock Photo Licenses Explained - Web Guide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Most SOM Images Fall Into Two Categories For most School of Medicine websites, images will typically be either be: Departmental images \u2014 photos created or owned by your department, with permission from individuals (when applicable). Royalty-free stock images \u2014 purchased or downloaded from a reputable provider (such as Adobe Stock) that grants broad reuse rights &hellip; Read more\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/userguide\/media\/stock-photo-licenses-explained\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Web Guide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-11-18T14:33:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/419\/2021\/03\/creative-commons-by.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/userguide\/media\/stock-photo-licenses-explained\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/userguide\/media\/stock-photo-licenses-explained\/\",\"name\":\"Stock Photo Licenses Explained - Web Guide\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-03-15T12:49:56+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-18T14:33:27+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/userguide\/media\/stock-photo-licenses-explained\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/userguide\/media\/stock-photo-licenses-explained\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/userguide\/media\/stock-photo-licenses-explained\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"User Guide\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/userguide\/ughome\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Media &#038; Video\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/userguide\/media\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"Stock Photo Licenses Explained\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/\",\"name\":\"Web Guide\",\"description\":\"School of Medicine IT\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Stock Photo Licenses Explained - Web Guide","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/userguide\/media\/stock-photo-licenses-explained\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Stock Photo Licenses Explained - Web Guide","og_description":"Most SOM Images Fall Into Two Categories For most School of Medicine websites, images will typically be either be: Departmental images \u2014 photos created or owned by your department, with permission from individuals (when applicable). Royalty-free stock images \u2014 purchased or downloaded from a reputable provider (such as Adobe Stock) that grants broad reuse rights &hellip; Read more","og_url":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/userguide\/media\/stock-photo-licenses-explained\/","og_site_name":"Web Guide","article_modified_time":"2025-11-18T14:33:27+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/419\/2021\/03\/creative-commons-by.png","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/userguide\/media\/stock-photo-licenses-explained\/","url":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/userguide\/media\/stock-photo-licenses-explained\/","name":"Stock Photo Licenses Explained - Web Guide","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/#website"},"datePublished":"2021-03-15T12:49:56+00:00","dateModified":"2025-11-18T14:33:27+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/userguide\/media\/stock-photo-licenses-explained\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/userguide\/media\/stock-photo-licenses-explained\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/userguide\/media\/stock-photo-licenses-explained\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"User Guide","item":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/userguide\/ughome\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Media &#038; Video","item":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/userguide\/media\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Stock Photo Licenses Explained"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/","name":"Web Guide","description":"School of Medicine IT","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links_to":[],"_links_to_target":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11538","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3206"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11538"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11538\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14778,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11538\/revisions\/14778"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/14703"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11538"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}