Wherefore Creative Commons Art Thou?

 


Finding Creative Commons Licensing on Google Searches

Creative Commons can be very confusing when you are first starting out. Heck, it is confusing all of the time, really. What can you share, remix, use for commercial purposes? When do you attribute? How much of something can you use to begin with?  All of that I can't really help with. It confuses me, too. BUT, what I can do is show you where you can find the licenses for any images you find in a Google search.

Tools


When you first input your search parameters, you will want to click on Tools on the right. Then click on Creative Commons licenses, then again on Creative Commons licenses. That way, all of the images will filter to only those images.

License Details

You might notice that all of the images have a little icon on the lower left that when you hover your pointer over it, it will say "licensable". Okay...what in the heck does that mean? How to you get the license? Do you have to pay for it? That word leaves so much up for interpretation. Thankfully, there is a way to find out!


When you open up an image, look for License details. When you click it for this image, the next page shows:



You can share and adapt, also known as remix. As long as you:

Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.

ShareAlike — If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same license as the original.


Let's check another image. Again, look for License details.


Wow! The image is so creative with tons of art. That has to be copyrighted, right?


What?! No copyright? How amazing! The creator of that image chose to make it open to the public domain! Anyone can use it however they like, even for commercial purposes.

Takeaways

What I hope everyone gets from this exploration is the variety of Creative Commons options there can be. When you create your own content, you'll want to consider what you want your copyright to be. And when you search for images on places like Google, always check the license so you stay within the law. It can feel daunting, but taking that extra time will set you up for success.

Comments

  1. Maureen WFebruary 8, 2026 at 9:50 AM

    This was SO helpful! I didn't realize you could filter directly on Google like that. Thank you so much for the tip!

    ReplyDelete
  2. WessamFebruary 8, 2026 at 10:39 AM

    Thank you Gaea. As always, a very engaging an informative blog post. This is my first experience with blogs and blog posts and I do admit I am impressed with your work. The information you shared is very helpful

    ReplyDelete
  3. CassiFebruary 12, 2026 at 1:04 PM

    Wow, this is an amazing and informative post! You are right in saying that all of this information can be really confusing, so I plan to save this information and refer to it in the future for school as well as work. Thank you so much for sharing.

    ReplyDelete

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