: Can I take images from Google image search as a base for my creations? This is a legal question and I want to know if I can continue the way I work in a commercial environment. This is

@Ogunnowo857

I suggest you search Flickr instead, where you can filter pictures by their copyright status. www.flickr.com/creativecommons/
The example you gave is a borderline case in the sense that while it is probably illegal to re-use it, nobody would notice or care. There are millions of identical-looking cables, and after you've finished retouching it, nobody would even be able to tell which one you used.

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@Angie364

To put it simple: If you use (part of) an existing image that isn't royalty-free, then no, you may not use it. Doing so may result in a 'fine'. It's not like Johannes says either, it doesn't matter how close it resembles any other picture of the same object.

However. Although you may officially not use a picture you got from some random site, it doesn't mean you can't actually use it. In the sample you provided, there is no way anyone can see which photo was used for it. Especially here, because it's a standard USB cable of which there are tons of similar photos. As long as no one can evidently see you took a specific picture for use in your icons/mockups/sites/whatever, you can use it without getting in trouble.

One small tip though: some/most stock image sites make their money mostly by sending 'invoices' to site owners who use one of their pictures. If you use any non-Royalty Free stock images, make sure you cannot see that that specific image was used for your creation.

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@Reiling762

Ask yourself these questions:

1) Is this picture unique? Can you go take it yourself?

2) Is it very common? If you look it up, do you find thousands of images from varying angles or just a handful?

This picture you provided is incredibly commonplace and just about everyone owns one of these cables and can easily take a picture of one of these things. That means you could easily make this picture yourself and avoid stealing it, which is what you should do.

As has been mentioned, caution should always be exercised when you're unsure if you can use an image - you should obtain permission to use the image if at all possible..

Also it doesn't hurt to check what sort of license may be associated with an image (if possible), you may even find that an image you need is public domain.

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