You have a blog, a social media following, and a killer website. You want to share incredible pictures, cool music, and clips of your favorite TV show. But they might be someone else’s intellectual property. Just because something is on the internet doesn’t mean it’s free for everyone to use in any manner. Creative works online are protected by copyright, so you typically need permission from the owner to use them. There’s no implied license to use content others have shared online. And giving a disclaimer that says something like “I don’t own these images. NO COPYRIGHT INTENDED.” doesn’t make it okay for you to use someone else’s work without permission. Crediting the author does not protect you against a claim for infringement either... but there are legal ways to use others’ works. So, what should you do? First, you could get permission from the copyright owner. Sometimes easy, sometimes not. If the ownership information is clear (like a photo credit), reach out to the owner directly. If it’s not clear, you can also contact the website where you found the content to see if they know whom to ask about permission. And while works don’t need to be registered to be protected by copyright, you should also check with the Copyright Office to verify ownership information, if possible. You can search copyright records from 1978 to the present at copyright.gov. Older records are housed in the Copyright Reading Room at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. The owner could be the individual author, or it could be a music publisher, film studio, or other entity. Additionally, a variety of websites offer music that is royalty-free or cheap to use. For photos, the Associated Press has AP Images – a collection of royalty-free images. Getty Images has a collection of royalty-free images, too. Additionally, the Library of Congress website has many items from its collection online, but you must research if the item is protected by copyright or not. One large collection, the photographs of Carol Highsmith, is available on the Library’s website to use without copyright restrictions. There are also times when you don’t need to get permission to use content, or when you can use the content under certain circumstances. Some uses fall under the Fair Use exception. For more information on fair use, visit copyright.gov and check out the Fair Use Index. Only a federal judge can determine if a use is permitted by the Fair Use Doctrine, so proceed with caution. Some works, of course, are free to use. Copyright protection does not last forever, and many older works have fallen out of copyright protection and into the public domain. Duration of copyright has changed as new laws have been passed, but it currently is the life of the author plus seventy years or in the case of works made for hire (think: a film by a movie studio) 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever is shorter. Some works are available for free use under a public license. If a work is released under a public license, you are free to use it – just make sure you follow the license terms. Creative Commons offers a variety of public licenses for creators to share their work; all Creative Commons licenses require that you credit the author, and some have other limitations, such as using their work only for non-commercial purposes. As you can see, there are a lot of options for adding others’ works to your blog, social media content, or website. These are a few examples, but you could surely find more by researching online. Just be careful to confirm that content that is billed as "free" actually is free to use in the manner in which you plan to use it. If you’re looking for more info on licensing, the Fair Use Doctrine, and the public domain, visit copyright.gov or check out our circulars.