Google Image Search Adds Easy Interface for Finding Images Licensed for Re-Use
By George Williams
January 29, 2014
Here at ProfHacker, we’ve written a number of posts over the years about Creative Commons licenses, which are intended to “give everyone from individual creators to large companies and institutions a simple, standardized way to grant copyright permissions to their creative work.” For example, I’ve explained
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Let’s say you’re searching Google Images for some pictures of cute cats. You will likely end up with a page of results that looks something like the screenshot below (click to enlarge).
If you then click on “Search Tools,” a menu will appear, offering several options for refining your search:
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Size
Color
Type
Time
Usage Rights
More Tools
Selecting “Usage Rights” then allows you to identify those images that you are free to re-use without having to secure permission from the creators.
Your choices are
labeled for re-use
labeled for commercial re-use
labeled for re-use with modification
labeled for commercial re-use with modification
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Easy. Now, you’ve always been able to search Google Images for Creative Commons licensed images, but you had to find your way to the advanced search interface. What’s new here is that you can conduct advanced searches right from the Google Images homepage.
What are your search strategies for finding Creative Commons licensed materials? Please share in the comments.