Google Images Usage Rights
Know Your Usage Rights
Google has made a significant change to Google Images. Users are now able to search for images with specific usage rights. This is incredibly beneficial for webmasters trying to find images online, in order to find out whether or not they can use the image. In turn, it also allows the site owner to know which images can safely be placed on their website without having to worry about copyrights.
Although this image filtering service has been offered by Google since 2009, not many people know about this feature, mainly because it was a search feature hidden within the advanced search options. Now, it is easily visible when you click the “Search Tools” button.
The default “Usage Rights” is set as “not filtered by license,” but you can choose between “labeled for reuse,” “labeled for commercial reuse,” “labeled for reuse with modification,” and “labeled for commercial reuse of modification.”
In addition, since last summer, Bing has also offered their own sort of image filtering service, rivaling Google’s.
However, it is important to be aware that there will be sites that publish images labeled for reuse, but unfortunately they are not the original owners of the photo.  Use Google’s search by image option to trace where the photo originated from. This way, you can guarantee the licensing of the photo.