leilaniOne of the biggest pitfalls book authors and designers can deal with is copyright.
Some of the most common concerns involve copyright of images, such as:
- When using an image from a free stock site, it should be okay, right? After all, it says it’s Creative Commons and fine for commercial use.
- AI art is made by computers, so is it good for covers?
- When buying an image from a paid stock site, are you buying the copyright for it?
- What about using stock images for non-book-cover purposes, like printed bookmarks or promotional materials?
- What’s the rule about using song lyrics or snippets of poetry in books?
- If I take a photo with my own camera, can I safely use it for a book cover?
The author linked below has a terrific series on copyright issues, specifically geared toward book cover designers.
Now to answer the questions before the link:
Question: When using an image from a free stock site, it should be okay, right? After all, it says it’s Creative Commons and fine for commercial use.
Answer: It’s not a good idea. There’s no vetting process for the free stock sites, and if you use their images and are sued, it’s all on you. Most paid sites have provisions that state if you in good faith use one of their images and you’re sued for copyright infringement, they’ll cover you for up to $XX,XXX in damages.
Question: AI art is made by computers, so is it good for covers?
Answer: It’s still a gray area. For now, Amazon permits AI-generated work to be used on books published on the Kindle platform. In the meantime, Adobe expressly states its AI-generated work cannot be used for commercial purposes. No one is certain where AI gets the imagery it uses for its output, and a court has yet to decide, one way or another. I use some AI imagery on this site, but wouldn’t use it for a book cover, not until there’s a definitive court declaration saying it’s legal. And as a side-note: you currently can’t copyright anything made with AI art, so if you use it to create a customer’s cover, and they don’t pay you, you can’t make a copyright claim to have Amazon take it down.
Question: When buying an image from a paid stock site, are you buying the copyright for it?
Answer: No! When you purchase imagery from stock sites, you’re purchasing the rights to use the image — but copyright to the original image stays with its creator.
Question: What about using stock images for non-book-cover purposes, like printed bookmarks or promotional materials?
Answer: Always read the Terms of Use (TOU) for the site. For virtually every paid stock site I’ve seen, additional licensing is required to use the images for swag: posters, bookmarks, tee shirts, mugs, etc. Some even disallow use for print covers without buying an extended license. And almost all sites have a limit. For DepositPhotos, for example, the TOU allows for up to 500,000 impressions. That means a combined 500,000 print book covers, eBooks sold, and listings on your website, etc. Granted, for most authors, 500,000 impressions is way more than will ever be used. However, as a designer it may be difficult or impossible for you to track. To be on the safe side, enter those numbers on your design contract and let the cover-buyer be aware if they exceed the numbers or use for any other purpose, they will need to buy an extended license.
Question: What’s the rule about using song lyrics or snippets of poetry in books?
Answer: Unless you have the songwriter’s/poetry author’s written permission to do so, don’t do it. One of my friends was writing a book and wanted to use the lyrics of a popular song that mostly fit her storyline. I told her it was a hard no – and I wrote her a song/poem she could use in its place. Not only did she dodge the copyright bullet, she then had a custom-written poem which was tailored expressly to fit her story, with my happy blessing. It went from being a decent fit to a precise match for her characters’ journey.
Question: If I take a photo with my own camera, can I safely use it for a book cover?
Answer: This is another case of, “It depends.” Yes, if you personally take a photo, you own the copyright for the photograph itself. However… if you photograph a trademarked or copyrighted item, you don’t own the rights to that item and can’t use the photo for commercial endeavors. For example, most buildings built in the USA from December 1, 1990 and forward are copyrighted designs. You can’t take a photo of a house in a newer subdivision and use it on a book cover. The Eiffel Tower has copyright restrictions against commercial use. So do other historic sites worldwide. The short answer is… When in doubt, look it up or ask.
This article and the linked one don’t cover every possible copyright concern, but they’re a starting point. Copyright is a complicated matter and a critical one. Violating copyright law can cost you thousands of dollars, sometimes tens of thousands or more.
The copyright rules cited here are for the USA and are current as of summer 2023. Laws vary from one nation to another. Laws also change from time to time. It’s up to authors and designers to determine what applies in their particular situation.
