Contact information
Irish Copyright Licensing Agency CLG
info@icla.ie
A visual work is a work of artistic craftmanship. Visual works include photographs, paintings, drawings, diagrams, maps, charts, plans, engravings, etchings, lithographs, woodcuts, prints, collages and sculptures.
[CRRA Sec. 2]
A wide variety of published images, such as drawings, photographs, or various graphic representations, are frequently used in education. The ways and possibilities to use images have become even more versatile with digital technology. Generally, using images taken by others in contexts other than private use requires permission from the creator or photographer. ICLA’s copying licences enable copying and use of images as part of educational materials or in projects.
Under the copying licence from ICLA, you can copy and digitise almost all domestic and foreign printed and digital publications for educational and research purposes. You can also copy or store image material that is lawfully available online for student projects or to supplement educational materials. With the ICLA licence, you can also make minor modifications to image material, such as adding markings, circles, or arrows. In class, you can practise image editing using lawfully available images online or in publications. The original creator and the source must always be acknowledged.
There is a lot of visual material online that has been allowed for use by their rightsholders through the Creative Commons licence or a similar open licence. Such material can be used in accordance with the licence terms. There are many different combinations of the CC licence, and they have different usage rights. The symbols used in connection with the work indicate whether the creator has allowed the work to be used as is, whether it can be modified, shared, and/or used for commercial purposes. Read more about the CC licence.
With the ICLA copying licence, students can also copy images for their own assignments and theses. The licence does not allow for publishing the theses online. If the image does not exceed the threshold of originality or is not protected by copyright, copyright does not prevent its use.
Photographs are protected by copyright. Copyright to the photograph belongs to the photographer, not the subject of the photo. Therefore, publishing and storing a photograph on your own website or the school’s website requires permission from the photographer. If recognisable individuals appear in the photograph, all identifiable individuals in the photo must be asked for permission to use the image.
A photographic work is protected for 70 years after the year of the photographer’s death.
A painting, drawing, sculpture, or any other visual artwork is generally always a work protected under copyright law.
To reproduce an artwork, for example in a textbook or on the internet, you need the permission of the rightsholder. The copyright organisation for visual arts, IVARO, grants permission for various types of use of visual art.
A drawing is protected by copyright if it is independent and original. Students’ drawings are also protected. Therefore, permission from the student is required for the placement of drawings on the school/college’s website, or for publication in the school/college’s newsletter, end of year report of other publications. In the case of underage students (17 or younger), the consent of their legal guardian is also required.
If a painting, drawing, or other visual artwork has been published in a book or magazine, the image can be copied and used for educational purposes under the ICLA copying licence. However, the copying licence does not apply to unpublished works, such as students’ drawings or paintings that have not been published in newspapers or books, or otherwise made available to the public so the student’s permission is also needed to reproduce their work on the school/college’s closed learning platform.
Maps, such as road maps, wall maps, or tourist maps, are usually protected by copyright. In copyright law, maps are defined as artistic works.
Works that consist predominantly of maps are excluded form the ICLA copying licence but can be copied under the copyright exception for education if used for school/college project work. If you want to copy a map for your own website or as part of a book or other publication, you need the permission of the copyright holder. Tailte Éireann (formerly Ordnance Survey Ireland) licenses the use of maps.
Comic book characters are visual artworks protected by copyright. To imitate, copy, and use a comic character, you need permission from the rightsholder. For example, it is possible to create an enlargement of a cartoon character for personal use, but these copies cannot be used for other purposes, such as selling or publishing online. Under the ICLA copying licence, a student may, for instance, draw an enlargement of a cartoon character during an art class, but such a drawing cannot be published on the school’s website, in publications available to the public, or on social media.
Be aware that in addition to copyright protection, many comic book characters have also been protected by trademark legislation which is more restrictive, carries higher penalties for infringement and is not covered by the ICLA copying licence.
The ICLA copying licence allows students and teachers to include images from published works and the internet in school projects and presentations. There are also various online image banks whose images can be used in accordance with the terms of use set by the image bank.
Materials shared with a Creative Commons (CC) licence can be used in accordance with the terms of the CC licence. The CC licence is based on conditions established by the creator for how their work can be used. It involves copyrighted material that can be used under the conditions defined by the creator. The CC licence always requires that the creator and the licence be mentioned in connection with the work being used. Read more about the CC licence.
Irish Copyright Licensing Agency CLG
info@icla.ie