Digital Scholarship Services frequently receives questions from grad students about using images in theses and dissertations. Specifically, they want to know if they can use a copyrighted image in their manuscript.

When possible, we encourage authors to use images in the public domain or licensed with a Creative Commons license to prevent any copyright issues. But, generally, there is agreement within the academic community that use of images in theses/dissertations falls under fair use. To help support the case for fair use, we encourage authors to:

• Only include images that are critical for your work. Do not use them for aesthetic purposes.
• Include significant commentary about the image.
• Include proper citations for images used.

Fondren Library has several online resources that can help authors navigate image use in publication:

• Copyright and Fair Use: This guide is intended to serve as an introduction to copyright for members of the Rice community, highlighting issues relevant to an academic environment.
• Finding and Using Images in Publications: This guide is intended to provide information on finding and using images in art and art history publications.
• Finding Images and Text in the Public Domain
• Creative Commons: Guide for choosing a Creative Commons (CC) license for your own work and finding and using CC-licensed content.

Fondren Library staff can provide Rice faculty, staff, and students consultation and referral on a number of copyright issues, including fair use, author rights, inclusion of copyrighted material in University courses, and reuse of licensed library resources. Contact us at cds@rice.edu.

Note: Library resources have been assembled with input from Rice General Counsel’s office, but is not intended to serve as legal advice.