Many of us found ourselves in the following situation at some point: we’re preparing a presentation, a worksheet, study materials, or a new course, and we want to liven it up a bit. We type a few words into Google Images, click on the first eye-catching image… and feel like we’re done. It is precisely this innocent step that can be the quickest path to a serious copyright infringement.

So how can we work with images safely?

The key is to verify the license for the media in question. Licenses determine how a work can be used, modified, or shared. If the image is your own work, you don’t need to worry about any licensing details. For third-party works, you must determine the specific licensing terms. You can find details in the ELF user documentation.