Flickr Commons
Search and annotate public photography archives. Participating cultural institutions have reasonably concluded that included photographs are free of copyright restrictions. Participating institutions include:
- Australian National Maritime Museum on The Commons
- Australian War Memorial collection
- Bergen Public Library
- Biblioteca de Arte-Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian
- Bibliothèque de Toulouse
- Brooklyn Museum
- Center for Jewish History, NYC
- Cornell University Library
- DC Public Library Commons
- Fylkesarkivet i Sogn og Fjordane
- Galt Museum & Archives on The Commons
- George Eastman House
- Getty Research Institute
- Imperial War Museum Collections
- Jewish Historical Society of the Upper Midwest
- JWA Commons
- Keene and Cheshire County (NH) Historical Photos
- Ljósmyndasafn Reykjavíkur / Reykjavík Museum of
- LlGC ~ NLW
- LSE Library
- Musée McCord Museum
- NASA on The Commons
- Nationaal Archief
- National Galleries of Scotland Commons
- National Library NZ on The Commons
- National Library of Scotland
- National Maritime Museum
- National Media Museum
- New York Public Library
- nha.library
- Oregon State University Archives
- Powerhouse Museum Collection
- Smithsonian Institution
- SMU Central University Libraries
- State Library and Archives of Florida
- State Library of New South Wales collection
- State Library of Queensland, Australia
- Swedish National Heritage Board
- Texas State Archives
- The Field Museum Library
- The Library of Congress
- The Library of Virginia
- The National Archives UK
- The U.S. National Archives
- UA Archives | Upper Arlington History
- UW Digital Collections
Rights
About the Rights Statement
Participating institutions may have various reasons for determining that "no known copyright restrictions" exist, such as:
- The copyright is in the public domain because it has expired;
- The copyright was injected into the public domain for other reasons, such as failure to adhere to required formalities or conditions;
- The institution owns the copyright but is not interested in exercising control; or
- The institution has legal rights sufficient to authorize others to use the work without restrictions.
Copyrights on Photographs
Under "The Commons," cultural institutions that have reasonably concluded that a photograph is free of copyright restrictions are invited to share such photograph under their new usage guideline called "no known copyright restrictions."
Photographs can be difficult to analyze under copyright law, not only because laws around the world differ with respect to scope and duration of protection, but because the photographs themselves often lack credit lines, dates and other identifying information. Libraries, museums and other cultural institutions have a great deal of experience with photographs because they frequently collect, preserve, document and study them in accordance with their nonprofit missions. However, in many instances, a cultural institution will not be the rights holder under copyright law. Therefore, it can neither grant permission to others who wish to use a photograph nor provide a guarantee that the photograph is in the public domain.
BY ASSERTING "NO KNOWN COPYRIGHT RESTRICTIONS," PARTICIPATING INSTITUTIONS ARE SHARING THE BENEFIT OF THEIR RESEARCH WITHOUT PROVIDING AN EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED WARRANTY TO OTHERS WHO WOULD LIKE TO USE OR REPRODUCE THE PHOTOGRAPH. IF YOU MAKE USE OF A PHOTO FROM THE COMMONS, YOU ARE REMINDED TO CONDUCT AN INDEPENDENT ANALYSIS OF APPLICABLE LAW BEFORE PROCEEDING WITH A PARTICULAR NEW USE.
TO REVIEW THE EXPLICIT RIGHTS STATEMENT FOR ANY IMAGE, PLEASE CLICK ON THE RELEVANT LINK UNDER "PARTICIPATING INSTITUTIONS," OR ON THE "NO KNOWN COPYRIGHT RESTRICTIONS" LINK ASSOCIATED WITH THE IMAGE IN THE COMMONS.
Coverage
1800s-present
Date
September 13, 2010
Other databases for:
- Countries and cultures
- Multimedia
- Music recordings and scores
- Narratives, diaries, and letters
- Newspapers and magazines
- Freely accessible databases
Other databases covering:
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