Q. What are best practices for copyright compliance in presentations?

1. Is this work (figure, table, image, song, etc.) copyrighted?

The answer is almost certainly yes. Copyright is applied the moment a work is created. A “work” includes photos, drawings, figures, music, dance, and more. Unless the image states that it is in the public domain you must review the copyright license of each image or work before using in a presentation.

2. If I’m using the work for an educational presentation, does copyright still matter? Isn’t it fair use?

Copyright is still applied when you use an image, figure, table, music, art, etc. for an educational presentation. You must review the four factors of fair use for each work you use to ensure you are using it appropriately. A best practice is to always ensure that the reused work is relevant to the content of the presentation, a small portion of the work, will not be used commercially, and will not affect the owner’s ability to earn money. Learn more about the four factors.

3. If I cite the work I do not have to worry about copyright?

This is incorrect. Attribution is always a best practice when reusing someone else’s work, however it may not be enough. You must review the copyright license of the work before using it in your presentation.

4. How do I read a copyright license?

When reviewing a license, you’ll want to look for these things:

• Most works will have a “permissions” or “license” link next to or at the bottom of the work. Find this link and view the license rules. If you don’t see a link or text for permissions or licensing, you must contact the publisher for permission.
• For educational presentations, MD Anderson staff can use RightFind Academic.  RightFind Academic allows MD Anderson staff to review licenses for specific journals and books.
• Look for a Creative Commons license. Certain Creative Commons licenses will allow you to reuse an author’s work as long as you use them properly. You will often see these listed as CC-BY or CC-NC, etc. Learn more here.

If you have questions, ask a librarian. We’re trained in reading and interpreting copyright licenses.

5. How much of a work can I reuse in my educational presentation?

If you have reviewed the copyright of the work (figure, image, table, text) and you are allowed to reuse it, you should try to reuse only a small portion. This means, don’t copy the full text into your presentation. Here are the best practices:

• There is no hard and fast rule for how much of a work you can reuse. Try for 10% or less of the original work if possible. If not, see the next bullet point.
• The portion that is reused must be essential to the presentation of the educational content. In other words, don’t add a cartoon, video, or song just for fun. It must be important to the delivery of the content.
• Properly cite each work
• The work should only be viewable to attendees of the educational event. Events that are recorded and posted on external website may be seen as being used for commercial, non-educational purposes.  

6. What if I’m using copyrighted content for a presentation that is not educational or is commercial?

Presentations that happen outside of an educational setting, this includes academic conferences, can be viewed as having a commercial benefit to the presenter or organization hosting the presentation.

To reuse content for a non-educational presentation, you must obtain copyright permissions form publishers and/or creators before using their work. The only exception to this would be works listed as “public domain” or works with the appropriate “creative commons” license.

Most publishers require you to request permission to reuse content from the journal article through the Copyright Clearance Center. For journal articles, look for a link titled “Rights and permissions, or ” “Permission to re-use content,” or something similar. This will guide you to permissions information. Most authors do not retain the copyright of their published works, which means, from a legal perspective, the permission you need is from the publisher of the text. 

Most open access articles are published under a Creative Commons license and allow anyone to use the material as long as the terms of the license are followed. Terms usually include attribution and non-commercial use.

7. How do I cite an image in my presentation?

There are several ways to cite an image in a presentation. Best practice is to include the author name, title, and link. You can also include the Creative Commons license if available. To save space in your slide deck, add a superscript number to images and create one reference slide at the end of the presentation. Three different examples are listed below.

• Example 1 - Photo by Suta Rahady from Pexels
• Example 2 - VV Nincic. Lake Michigan. From Openverse. CC BY 2.0.
• Example 3 - Photo: VV Nincic¹
  • Full citation should be included in final slide.

8. How can I find free images that I can use in a presentation?

General Images

• PowerPoint – PowerPoint offers free stock images that require no attribution. Instructions on inserting images, icons, and more in Microsoft PowerPoint.
• Brand Central Images – MD Anderson staff can use Brand Central images for presentations.
• iStock by Getty Images – Most images in iStock can be purchased for a small fee and used in presentations. iStock also provides some free images.
• Google Images – Go to the Google Images site and search. Limit your search under “Tools” to search for “Creative Commons licenses”. You must review the license before using the image.
• More image resources here.

Medical Images/Figures

• BioRender – MD Anderson staff have access to create their own figures with BioRender.
• Strategic Communications – MD Anderson staff can request assistance in creating advanced graphics and tables from Strategic Communications.
• More image resources here

Best Practices

• Maintain records of sources used and permissions received for your presentation.
• Do not share full-text articles, books, or other licensed materials with attendees without reviewing the license with your library. You can share a link to an article or other work as long as you are not providing free access. For example, don’t upload licensed materials to file sharing sites and share.
• Don’t share slides or session recordings outside of session attendees unless you have confirmed permission for all of the works you have reused.
• Protect patient and student privacy. Review institutional policies before taking or using photos of either group.
• Do not use AI images in presentations unless the forming of the AI image is relevant to the education you are providing (i.e., crating AI images is part of the content of the presentation). As of this moment, we’re still unsure if using images created by AI could be considered copyright infringement.
• When in doubt, ask a librarian. We can help you navigate.