: Using stock images for logos What are the rules concerning incorporating stock image elements into a website branding or logo? From what I understand, IStockPhoto.com doesn't allow it. Are

@Angie364

You cannot use any stock photo, or any photo that is free for commercial use as part of logo, trademark or service mark.

I'm assuming the logic is because logos are often heavily copyrighted themselves and it wouldn't make sense to have a piece of heavily protected copyrighted work that isn't entirely original.

You can of course look into the licensing terms for each website and ctrl+F search for logos to see if they have a clause for restricting use. istock and shutterstock prohibit this use.

I've heard from a professional matte artist and digital painter that if you use only 20% of any image and alter it drastically to the point that it's no longer recognizable then it's okay to do whatever you want, but this route is always risky. Better to be inspired.

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@Shelton719

you can go check out openclipart.org

Everything on the site is free for commercial use and of high quality as well.

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@Frith110

Bad idea. Plus it wont look good. However you can use a stock image as an inspiration to ignite your creative forces.

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@Goswami567

Just to inform you; I 've used an image of gettyimages by using screenshot program. Just an cropped part of it. I modified and merged it with 50% transparency with my existing image. Then I changed some saturation. The image was 150x150 pixel. After 2 years, I received an legal warning letter with costs about 00.-.

Also if you "CAN" download the image as "free" there are rules why you are not allowed to make it public.

I really recommend to explicit request for each image for license to not fall into unwanted costs. If the producer changed his mind from "free license" to "nonfree license" it is hard for you to validate your situation.

Regards

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@Holmes874

The rules are outlined in the EULA that you would be agreeing to by purchasing the rights to reproduce the image. Typically using it for a logo is not permitted.

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@Reiling762

Using a stock image as the entire logo, or even part of a logo requires proper permissions.

The permissions depend on the license that that image is licensed under. Which license is needed is wholly dependent on what you plan to do with the final product. There are websites that have one license applied to the entire website, and anyone uploading to that website agrees to those license terms, and other stock websites allow their users to set the license.

Commercial stock is typically the hardest to find if you're looking for free commercial resources, but there are still some pretty good resources scattered around.
www.sxc.hu is a great resource, I do believe every user can control their license. Please correct me if I'm wrong. cgtextures.com/ is a texture website but everything on it you can use commercially.

To summarize, there is no definite answer. There isn't one governing rule. It all depends on the website/user, so be sure to check the licenses and read them through.

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