Can I use graphics found at Google Images? - Virtual Assistant Forums

harrisro · #1 (**permalink**) 10-30-2009

So...at the risk of not stealing...

I want to add some images to my site, but I can't find any great ones on the free sites. So I googled virtual assistant images and found some great ones. But can I use them? Would it be stealing? What about images from other sites? Is that stealing? Did people really pay $ to have all of those images on their sites or is there something I am missing? Thanks all!

Ronni

ChristinaVOS · #2 (**permalink**) 10-30-2009

Ronni, It's best not to use images you find that way. You can search for images but add "free" to the search phrase or be sure to find out where the image is from and see what they allow. There are so many free ones I'd be shocked if you didn't find something you liked eventually.
You can always check out Microsoft Office site for images to download.
Or maybe one of these sites:
http://bit.ly/22QUla

Action Jackson VA · #3 (**permalink**) 10-30-2009

Hi Ronni,

It is best not use other peoples graphics when developing your own website. I totally agree with Christina. Try the link she provided and see if any of those work for you.

You can also try Microsoft Office Clip Art, if you have MS Office on your computer. Click on the MS Office icon and go directly to their clipart site.

Good luck,
Andrea~

Crystal Clear Business Sol · #4 (**permalink**) 10-31-2009

Hi Ronni,
I have to agree.
There are some great pics in Microsoft clip art now.
There are other good picture sites with very inexpensive pictures, like 50 cents. But first cheque out freepictures, or freejpgs first.

Crystal

Bernice · #5 (**permalink**) 10-31-2009

Ronni,

Make your website unique and buy the photos for a few cents or use free ones which you download from sites like Dreamstime or fotolia. Or be adventures and make your own, no worries about whose they are then.

Cheers!!

Bernice · #6 (**permalink**) 11-01-2009

Just remembered another great site for free graphics, it is stock.xchng. You will have to sign up but they have lots of free images.

Cheers!!

harrisro · #7 (**permalink**) 11-01-2009

Thanks everyone. I found some good pics on microsoft office that I can use for now. I appreciate all of the feedback.

Ronni

Leslie Keffler · #8 (**permalink**) 11-01-2009

Hi Ronni,

I don't want to rain on your parade, but all Microsoft materials including images are copyrighted. According to their End User License Agreement you can only use their images for personal, noncommercial purposes and they cannot be used to advertise or create logos.

I'll see if I can find some other free/cheap images for you to use that haven't already been mentioned.

datandesign · #9 (**permalink**) 11-01-2009

Leslie you bet me to it! It's best to purchase your pictures or create them yourself. Otherwise you'll get yourself into serious trouble. Always read the licensing agreements prior to using the images!

Good luck!

Action Jackson VA · #10 (**permalink**) 11-01-2009

The MS Office Clip Art site that you can use and that is available for you to use on commercial products is at this link here.

Here is the information that the others are referring too, that are for the clip art found in the MS Office Software:

Clip Art

The Microsoft Clip Art Gallery provides a compilation of artwork for your personal use. The following guidelines apply to your personal use of clip art:

1. You may use clip art in your school assignments and projects.

2. You may use clip art in your church brochure.

3. You may use clip art for personal, noncommercial uses.

4. You may not use clip art to advertise your business.

5. You may not use clip art to create a company logo.

6. You may not use clip art to illustrate the chapters of a book.

Microsoft licenses artwork from third parties and cannot grant permission for you to redistribute the artwork. If you need artwork that you can redistribute, our Clip Art partners at Office Online provide a variety of images you can license.

Hopefully that will take care of the confusion I started here lol

Andrea

Tess · #11 (**permalink**) 11-22-2009

Great responses here already - I was just going to chime in with my own 'no'

and a suggestion to spend the few dollars to purchase good stock images from iStockPhoto or similar... it's something you can write off as a business expense and makes your site all the more professional in appearance and presentation.

I'd love to see what you turn out when you're done!

executive_assist · #12 (**permalink**) 01-10-2010

I found some on stock xchng, but I also found some on freedigitalphotos.net Good luck with your website!

RachelM · #13 (**permalink**) 03-02-2010

I agree with Tess. I love istockphoto.com. They are really cheap. I usually turn there for clients too because the amount of time I spend trying to find a photo and then...oh no it's copyrighted can be cumbersome. Istockphoto.com has tons of great pictures! Then you don't have to worry about whether or not it's "stolen".

Good luck!

vainparadise · #14 (**permalink**) 03-07-2010

On the topic of free images - I have Google Alerts set up and have my images tagged, and someone had taken one of the images from my site (without removing the tag) and placed it on hers. That is a big NO NO as well.

kezcol · #15 (**permalink**) 03-08-2010

Its also worth checking what uses you can use 'free' images for. They are generally free for personal use but when it comes to business you may need to check the small print for legal requirements when using/altering images retrieved from 'free' image sources.

It is a bit of a minefield and you can go cross-eyed reading the miles of small print.