Microsoft has provided Bing Images as a way to search for images across the Internet by using keywords or other images in a convenient and easy to use format. It is even linked into popular Microsoft tools like Office and Edge. But does that mean that images returned in Bing Images searches are freely available for you to use as you wish?
The answer is – I wouldn’t bet on it. Bing Images searches for images from across endless sources available online. And while they are careful to not intentionally violate copyright laws, their language is very clear that it is the End User who is responsible for validating usage rights for the images available on the site.
Search by Usage Restrictions
One of the tools that is available within the Bing Images platform is the ability to filter by License Type. Choices include options like “Free to Share and Use”, “Free to share and use Commercially”, etc. This would imply that the images returned were not under copyright protection.
But a simple search of images using the “Free to Share and Use” filter applied returned two images that were clearly watermarked with the stock agency that was offering the images for sale – clearly NOT “Free to Share and Use” – and that was on the first page of results.
The actual policy of Microsoft, from their website, is “When you find an image that you want, go to the originating website for the image and determine the actual license for the image. Next, go to the Creative Commons website and make sure you read and understand the license and its provisions, restrictions, and attribution requirements. After you complete this research you should know how and when you can use the image.”
Creative Commons
The Creative Commons organization, referenced above, established the Creative Commons Zero (CC0) license, which allows a content creator to push their assets into the public domain with universal, non-adaptable, rights granted to the end user without restrictions or further attribution.
Using their own words to describe the CC0 license, “The person who associated a work with this deed has dedicated the work to the public domain by waiving all of his or her rights to the work worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.”
Without an expressed designation from the content creator that the image is available for public domain or for reuse under the CC0 license, the creator of the image retains all rights to that image.
Images of people and property
Another area to be aware when determining if an image can be used or not is whether there are clearly recognizable people or property in the picture. Even if the image itself is in the “Public Domain” or otherwise licensed under the Creative Commons Zero umbrella, the model or property owner retains all the rights to usage of their image in commercial applications.
In simple terms, you cannot use an image of a person to sell a product or service without their explicit, written release – otherwise known as a Model Release. The same is true for property, which require a Property Release.
Copyrights
And finally, it is illegal to use copyrighted materials – such as brand logos and trademarks, works of art, or other intellectual property – without the express written consent of the copyright owner for anything other than Editorial applications.
So if you are getting a bad feeling about freely using that image that was returned in a Bing Images search, trust your gut. Then go to a trusted provider of Stock Images like dreamstime.com for all your image needs.
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Data2203
Need to know! Thank you for sharing!