Reading sequence
Using other work and making things with AI
For using images, music, writing, code or AI tools in your own work: permission, exceptions and the intended use.
The sequence
- 10 questions before you use someone else’s work
Ten questions to answer before you reuse an image, a quotation, a song or an AI output, and what to check before you publish.
- Found online does not mean free to use
Where you found a work tells you nothing about whether you may use it. Trace it to its owner, match the permission to your exact use, and keep the record.
- What a license is actually letting you do
A license covers the uses it names and nothing more. Read the grant against your actual plan, check the limits and conditions, confirm the licensor owns what they licensed, and get a new permission in writing when the plan changes.
- How to ask for permission
Find the person who controls the right you need, ask for one specific use of one specific work, and get the answer in writing before you rely on it.
- How fair use works in the United States
Fair use has no safe percentage. Weigh the four factors in section 107 against the one specific use you plan, and ask for permission when the answer is unclear.
- Finding out whether something is in the public domain
Pin down the exact version, check its dates against the U.S. term rules, search the Copyright Office records, and keep what you find. An old story can sit inside a newer translation or recording that is still protected.
- Creative Commons without the guesswork
Each Creative Commons license is a real permission with conditions attached. Check the source and the version, read the letters, credit the work properly, and know what the license leaves out.
- Making things with AI
Copyright in something you made with AI covers what you contributed, not what the tool generated. Sort out what you supplied, what you created and what you plan to publish before you upload, publish or register.
Optional side paths
Every article in this section
10 questions before you use someone else’s work
Ten questions to answer before you reuse an image, a quotation, a song or an AI output, and what to check before you publish.
Found online does not mean free to use
Where you found a work tells you nothing about whether you may use it. Trace it to its owner, match the permission to your exact use, and keep the record.
What a license is actually letting you do
A license covers the uses it names and nothing more. Read the grant against your actual plan, check the limits and conditions, confirm the licensor owns what they licensed, and get a new permission in writing when the plan changes.
How to ask for permission
Find the person who controls the right you need, ask for one specific use of one specific work, and get the answer in writing before you rely on it.
How fair use works in the United States
Fair use has no safe percentage. Weigh the four factors in section 107 against the one specific use you plan, and ask for permission when the answer is unclear.
Finding out whether something is in the public domain
Pin down the exact version, check its dates against the U.S. term rules, search the Copyright Office records, and keep what you find. An old story can sit inside a newer translation or recording that is still protected.
Creative Commons without the guesswork
Each Creative Commons license is a real permission with conditions attached. Check the source and the version, read the letters, credit the work properly, and know what the license leaves out.
Making things with AI
Copyright in something you made with AI covers what you contributed, not what the tool generated. Sort out what you supplied, what you created and what you plan to publish before you upload, publish or register.
Remixes and adaptations
What you add to an adaptation can be yours, but the work you started from stays someone else's. Name what you are taking, pick a lawful route, and register only what you added.
Faces and voices are not just another asset
A license for a photo or recording does not license the person in it. Get written consent that names each use of a face, voice or digital replica, and never make a real person appear to endorse something they did not.
When your work is used to train AI
If you think your work was used to train an AI system, save what you saw, register the work, block future crawling where you can, and decide what you want before you contact anyone.