Copyright for Creatives

4.3 Cover Art

This project began in a moment of frustration at seeing one too many wattpad guides on designing cover art, because every single one of those "guides" promoted copyright violation. Every. Single. One.

The problematic piece of advice: If you change one thing on someone else's image, it invalidates the creator's copyright and you can use the picture scot-free.

If you've gotten this far, I hope that means you've read the first section of this book, and that you understand why that advice is not only wrong, it's promoting illegal behavior. If you dropped in here: DO NOT under any circumstances follow this advice. And use the menu to navigate to the chapter on Fair Use and read it.

This misunderstanding is actually at the core of creating transformative works and remixes...and is often where the "But I found it on the internet" crowd gets their sharp life lessons on how copyright and Fair Use actually work.

So, what's the writer or producer who has zero budget and zero ability to create their own art for covers to do? Rely on single-color background and Google Fonts?

Fear not. I'm in your boat, so I've got some experience in this department...that does sometimes relies on single-color elements and Google Fonts.

Start by sticking to Creative Commons and Public Domain images. Google can be very handy for identifying images that claim to fall into one of those two categories, but as usual - always do your due diligence. (There are some really morally bereft people uploading things to the internet. Don't be one of them.)

Not only can Google do its usual image search, it has a nifty Usage Rights tool to help you focus your search on images you can use.

* Search for your term

* On the results page click on Tools (under the search bar).

* Select Usage Rights from the list that appears.

* You'll be shown four options - two for all use and a matching set for noncommercial use. Choose the one that best meets your needs. (As cover art is a marketing tool, it's best to avoid noncommercial use.)

* Scan through the presented images. Hopefully, find one you like. (Adjust your search terms if not.) Make sure the image is definitely covered by the license it claims. Download and go nuts.

It sounds a bit tedious, but isn't it worth it if it keeps you out of trouble?

If Google doesn't turn up anything that tickles your fancy, an increasing number of national galleries and art museums are digitizing their Public Domain collections and making them available to the public. You can search for those (because I don't have the time to maintain that list. Sorry.)

Or, you can go really crazy, raid your home and local thrift stores and yard sales for interesting fabric and props and create vignettes you can then take pictures. You get to play. You get to show off another creative skill. You potentially create visual material to help market your work on social media. And...best part of all...you own the copyright.

Remember that copyright extends to all creative endeavors in a fixed medium. That "minor tweaks" are not transformative. And that creating covers from legitimate sources is not any harder, and sometimes more fun, than stealing someone else's copyright. (Don't steal other creators' copyright.)