AUTOGRAPHS

Where can I find a public domain/government photo of Mitt Romney?

I work for an online high school newspaper that just did a story about the Michigan primaries, and we need a photo of Mitt Romney, but we don’t want to violate copyright laws. Is there any way we can get a photo of him without violating copyright? Any public domain photos of him? What about the photos on his website?

Using Mitt Romney’s photo in conjunction with an article about the primaries — that is, in news reporting — is a classic example of “fair use.”

Section 107 of the Copyright Act tells us that certain uses of copyrighted works are fair use — meaning they aren’t a violation of copyright even when you use the work without permission from, or credit to, the copyright owner. News reporting is one of the uses listed in Section 107 (the others are criticism, comment, teaching, scholarship, and research).

FYI — to decide whether a specific use is a fair use, courts consider four main factors, including: (1) the purpose of the use, including whether it is commercial; (2) whether the original work was factual or fictional; (3) the amount of the work taken; and (4) the potential harm to the market for the original work. (Factors 1 and 4 are usually treated as most important.)

Finally, even when you don’t have to … crediting your source is always a good thing to do.

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