Can I Use Someone Else’s Content in My App or Website?
Copyright Licensing for Arizona Businesses
Building a website, app, online course, social media presence, or other digital product usually requires a lot of content.
Photos. Illustrations. Videos. Music. Written materials. Graphics. Educational resources. Templates. Icons. Maybe even content created specifically for your business by a freelancer or independent contractor.
But there is an important legal question that Arizona business owners sometimes overlook:
Do you actually have the right to use all of it?
Finding content online does not necessarily give you permission to use it. Paying someone to create content for your business does not always mean you own the copyright. And giving the original creator credit generally does not substitute for permission.
For businesses developing apps, websites, courses, marketing materials, and other products, copyright ownership and licensing can become important pieces of the intellectual property puzzle.
The good news is that businesses can often obtain the rights they need through a properly structured licensing agreement.
Here is what Tucson and Arizona business owners should understand before incorporating someone else's creative work into their business.
If It's Online, Can I Use It?
This is one of the biggest misconceptions surrounding copyright.
Something being publicly accessible does not necessarily mean it is in the public domain.
A photograph posted on a website, an illustration shared on Instagram, a blog article, a video on YouTube, or a graphic discovered through a Google search may still be protected by copyright.
Copyright protection generally attaches to qualifying original works when they are created and fixed in a tangible medium. The creator does not necessarily have to put a copyright symbol on the work for copyright protection to exist.
That means there is an important difference between being able to access something and having the legal right to use it.
For example, imagine you are developing an app for your Tucson business and discover an illustration online that perfectly fits the app's design. You can download the image. You know who created it. You may even be willing to prominently credit the artist.
None of those facts, standing alone, necessarily give your business permission to reproduce that illustration in its commercial product.
Before using third-party content, the better question is not simply, "Can I find this online?"
It is:
What gives my business the legal right to use this particular work in this particular way?
What If I Give the Creator Credit?
Attribution and permission are two different things.
Business owners sometimes assume they can use copyrighted content as long as they identify the original creator. While attribution may be required under a particular license, simply giving credit does not generally create a license where none otherwise exists.
Think about it this way: putting someone's name underneath their photograph acknowledges who created it. It does not necessarily answer whether they authorized you to put the photograph in your advertising campaign.
This is particularly important for commercial uses.
If your company wants to incorporate someone else's writing, artwork, photography, music, video, or other creative material into a product or service, you should determine whether you own the necessary rights, have received permission, or have another lawful basis for the use.
What About Content in the Public Domain?
Public-domain works can generally be used without obtaining permission from a copyright owner because they are not protected by copyright.
But determining whether something is actually in the public domain can be more complicated than simply finding an old image or text online.
There may also be multiple layers of rights involved.
For example, an underlying historical work might be in the public domain while a newer adaptation, translation, arrangement, photograph, recording, or other creative contribution has separate copyright protection.
Businesses should therefore be careful about assuming that "old" automatically means "free to use."
Similarly, some creators voluntarily make their works available under licenses such as Creative Commons licenses. Those licenses can be incredibly useful, but they come with different conditions. Some require attribution. Some restrict commercial use. Some restrict adaptations. Others impose additional requirements.
The important lesson is to read the license rather than assume what it allows.
I Paid Someone to Create It. Don't I Own It?
This is another area where businesses can encounter surprises.
Imagine you hire a freelance photographer to take product photographs. You hire a graphic designer to create illustrations for your website. You pay a writer to develop educational content for your app.
You paid the bill.
Who owns the copyright?
The answer is not necessarily "you."
Copyright ownership rules distinguish between works created by employees within the scope of their employment and works created by independent contractors. The federal "work made for hire" doctrine is also more specific than many business owners realize. Merely labeling something "work for hire" does not automatically make it so in every situation.
Depending on the circumstances, an independent contractor may retain copyright ownership unless the rights have been properly transferred.
That can create a strange situation for a business owner:
You paid to have something created but may not own all of the intellectual property rights in what you purchased.
This issue can become particularly important later.
Maybe you originally hired a designer for a small project and then decide to expand nationally. Maybe you want to modify the material. Maybe another company wants to license your platform. Maybe an investor conducts due diligence. Maybe you decide to sell the business.
Suddenly, "I paid someone for this five years ago" may not be enough.
Good intellectual property planning asks ownership questions early.
License vs. Assignment: What's the Difference?
Two common ways of acquiring rights to someone else's copyrighted work are through an assignment or a license.
An assignment generally involves transferring copyright ownership or specified ownership rights.
A license, by contrast, permits another person or business to exercise certain rights while the copyright owner retains ownership.
An easy analogy is the difference between buying a house and leasing one.
If someone assigns the copyright to you, ownership of the assigned rights changes hands. If someone licenses content to you, the original owner may continue to own it while giving you permission to use it according to agreed-upon terms.
Neither structure is automatically better.
What matters is whether the agreement gives your business the rights it actually needs.
What Should a Content Licensing Agreement Cover?
A licensing agreement should do considerably more than say, "You have permission to use my content."
The entire point is to eliminate uncertainty.
Depending on the project, a well-drafted content licensing agreement may address questions such as:
What content is being licensed?
The agreement should clearly identify the photographs, artwork, writing, recordings, videos, graphics, or other materials covered.
How can the business use it?
Website use is not necessarily the same thing as app use, advertising, social media, merchandise, educational materials, or resale.
Is the license exclusive or nonexclusive?
An exclusive license can significantly affect the creator's ability to license the same rights to others. A nonexclusive license may permit the creator to continue licensing the work elsewhere.
How long does the license last?
A business may need rights for six months, five years, or indefinitely.
Where can the content be used?
Territorial limitations may matter, particularly for businesses planning to expand outside the United States.
Can you modify the content?
If you need to crop an image, edit text, adapt artwork, translate material, combine content with something else, or create derivative works, the agreement should address those anticipated uses.
Can someone else use it on your behalf?
Apps and digital businesses frequently involve developers, hosting providers, marketing agencies, contractors, distributors, and other third parties. Your agreement should account for how your business actually operates.
What are you paying for the rights?
Compensation might involve a flat fee, royalties, recurring payments, revenue sharing, or another arrangement.
Is attribution required?
If the creator expects credit, the agreement can specify how that credit should appear.
Who owns the original material?
Licensing should not leave ownership ambiguous.
What happens if someone else claims ownership?
Representations, warranties, indemnification provisions, and other risk-allocation terms may become important depending on the transaction.
What happens when the agreement ends?
Can existing customers continue accessing the content? Must the business remove it from its website or app? What happens to previously distributed materials?
These provisions matter because businesses evolve.
Permission that seems adequate today can become inadequate when the company changes how it uses the content tomorrow.
Why "You Can Use My Artwork" May Not Be Enough
Consider a simple example.
A Tucson entrepreneur is developing an educational app and asks a local artist for permission to use several illustrations. The artist responds by email:
"Sure, you can use them."
Everyone is happy.
Then the business grows.
The entrepreneur wants to advertise the app using those illustrations. She wants to modify some of them. She develops merchandise. She wants to distribute the app internationally. Eventually, another company expresses interest in acquiring the business.
Now there are questions.
Did "use them" include advertising?
Could the illustrations be modified?
Was commercial use authorized?
Was the permission permanent?
Could the artist license the same illustrations to a competitor?
Can the acquiring company continue using them?
What happens if the artist changes their mind?
A licensing agreement is designed to answer those questions before they become disputes.
Your Business May Not Own Everything Inside Your Business
This is the larger lesson.
A business can own its website without owning every photograph on it.
It can own an app without owning every piece of content within the app.
It can own a brand without owning the copyright in the logo designed for that brand.
It can pay for a video without necessarily owning the underlying music.
And it can pay a freelancer thousands of dollars without necessarily receiving every intellectual property right associated with the freelancer's work.
This is why intellectual property should be viewed as part of the infrastructure of a business rather than something to think about only after a dispute occurs.
As your business grows, ownership matters.
Copyright and Trademark Protect Different Parts of Your Business
Business owners also frequently confuse copyright and trademark protection.
Although there can be overlap, they serve different purposes.
Copyright generally protects qualifying original creative expression, such as photographs, artwork, written materials, videos, music, and software.
Trademark law protects source identifiers—such as business names, product names, logos, and slogans—that identify the source of goods or services.
A single business may need both.
For example, an online education company might seek trademark protection for its brand name while simultaneously addressing copyright ownership of its course videos, worksheets, photographs, website copy, illustrations, and other content.
A comprehensive intellectual property strategy asks both questions:
What does the business own?
and
What does the business have permission to use?
When Should an Arizona Business Talk to an Intellectual Property Attorney?
The best time to address licensing is usually before the content becomes deeply integrated into your business.
Consider getting legal advice if you are:
developing an app or digital platform using third-party content;
hiring photographers, designers, writers, developers, or other creative contractors;
purchasing content from another creator;
building an online course or educational product;
licensing artwork, photographs, music, video, or written material;
unsure whether your business owns content that it paid someone to create;
preparing to expand, seek investors, license your product, or sell your company; or
receiving a request from someone else who wants to use your content.
Fixing unclear intellectual property ownership years later can be considerably more complicated than documenting the parties' rights correctly at the beginning.
Protect the Content Behind Your Brand
Your business's intellectual property is bigger than its name.
It may include the photographs on your website, the illustrations inside your app, the videos in your course, the copy in your marketing materials, the graphics on your social media accounts, and the creative work produced by contractors.
Before incorporating someone else's creative work into your business, determine what rights you actually need—and make sure you have them.
At Tucson Trademarks, we help Tucson, Pima County, and Arizona businesses think strategically about the intellectual property behind their brands. That includes trademark protection as well as copyright ownership and licensing issues that arise when businesses create, acquire, and use content.
If you are developing a website, app, digital product, or other business that relies on creative content, we can help you evaluate ownership, identify potential intellectual property issues, and draft or review agreements designed around how your business actually intends to use that content.
Need help figuring out whether your business owns—or has permission to use—the content behind your brand? Contact Tucson Trademarks to schedule a consultation.
This article provides general information and is not legal advice. Copyright and licensing questions are fact-specific, and reading this article does not create an attorney-client relationship.
