Online presence is no longer optional for most businesses. As a business owner, you are probably juggling sales, operations, and marketing. When you’re stretched thin and still need to create content for your socials, it is tempting to grab a great article, image, or video you found online and use it for your own website or social media pages. Used correctly, third-party content can add credibility and even boost your business. On the other hand, if you use it carelessly, it can land you in hot water, legally. Let’s walk through how you can use content created by others the right way.

Start by Identifying Copyrightable Content

The first step is knowing what is actually protected by copyright. Most images, videos, text, graphics, audio, and even website layouts are automatically protected by copyright the moment they are created. So, you cannot assume something is free just because it is publicly available. The only scenario you can do this is when the owner explicitly says it’s free to use.

Once you identify if the content is protected by copyright, understand what rights the owner controls. From there, you can decide whether you need permission, a license, or whether an exception applies.

Identify the Copyright Owner

Before using third-party content, always ensure you know who actually owns it. In some cases, the person who posted the content may not be the owner. For example, a photo shared on social media may still belong to the photographer or agency. Avoid relying on assumptions that something is “royalty-free” or “public domain”. Instead, do your own verification. Identifying the person or agency that owns the rights to the content you wish to use allows you to request proper permission and avoid disputes later.

Do Not Modify Content Without Permission

Once you are allowed to use the content, that permission may be limited. Cropping, recoloring, or adding filters could exceed the scope of the license. If you wish to modify third-party content in any way, seek approval first. Otherwise, it is better to create content from scratch.

Verify Permissions and Keep Records

Whenever you obtain permission or a license, ensure you document it. Save correspondence, contracts, license terms, and screenshots. This can protect your business in case a question or dispute ever comes up. If you have a team, ensure they know when permission is required, how to attribute properly, and where evidence of permission or licenses should be stored.

Understand Fair Use

Fair use allows limited use of copyrighted material. According to the fair use doctrine, you must consider the following:

Purpose and character of the use

Nature of the copyrighted content, that is, is it factual or creative? Factual content may be treated more leniently than highly creative work, like photos, music, and films.

Amount and substantiality of the portion used

Impact on the market for the original work

To meet the fair use requirement, it’s advisable to use third-party content as support. This means that the content should complement your own work, not replace it entirely. Try to pair it with original research and analysis. This not only reduces your legal risk but also strengthens your brand voice.

Contact the Internet Law Attorneys at Revision Legal

For more information, contact the experienced Internet Law Lawyers at Revision Legal. You can contact us through the form on this page or call (855) 473-8474.

How Fair Use Actually Works in Practice

Fair use under 17 U.S.C. §107 is a defense, not a permission slip. You cannot rely on fair use before the fact with certainty—it is determined by a court after weighing four factors: the purpose and character of the use, the nature of the copyrighted work, the amount and substantiality of the portion used, and the effect of the use on the market for the original. Transformative uses—those that add new meaning, expression, or message—weigh in favor of fair use, as established in Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc., 510 U.S. 569 (1994). Courts examine all four factors together, and no single factor is decisive. When in doubt, the safest approach is always to obtain a license.

Creative Commons and Open Source Licenses

Creative Commons (CC) licenses offer a middle ground between full copyright and public domain. There are six main CC license types, ranging from the most permissive (CC BY, which only requires attribution) to the most restrictive (CC BY-NC-ND, which prohibits commercial use and derivative works). Before using any CC-licensed content, read the specific license carefully. Using a CC BY-NC image in a commercial advertisement, for example, would violate the license even if you provide attribution. Similarly, open-source software licenses—MIT, Apache, GPL—govern how code can be used, modified, and redistributed. The GPL, in particular, requires that derivative works also be open-sourced, which can have significant implications for proprietary software businesses.

The DMCA and User-Generated Content on Your Platform

If your platform hosts content uploaded by users, you face additional exposure. Under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s safe harbor provisions at 17 U.S.C. §512, platforms can avoid liability for user-uploaded infringing content—but only if they register a DMCA agent, respond expeditiously to takedown notices, and terminate repeat infringers. Failing to meet these conditions exposes your business to the same liability as if you had directly infringed.

Practical Checklist for Using Third-Party Content

• Confirm the content is licensed, public domain, or CC-licensed for your specific use case
• Obtain written permission when the intended use is commercial or when you have any doubt
• Keep records of every license agreement, permission email, or purchase receipt
• Provide attribution where required, following the specific format the license demands
• Do not assume that a watermarked or low-resolution image is free to use—those indicators signal copyright ownership, not permission

Speak With an Internet Law Attorney

Content licensing questions arise constantly in the course of running an online business, and the consequences of getting them wrong can be severe. The attorneys at Revision Legal advise businesses on copyright licensing, DMCA compliance, and content strategy. Contact us for a consultation, or learn more through our copyright law practice page.

Music Licensing for Video and Social Media Content

Music presents some of the most common and costly third-party content problems for online businesses. When you use a copyrighted song in a promotional video, a product demo, or a social media reel—even for just a few seconds—you are implicating both the sound recording copyright (typically owned by the record label) and the underlying musical composition copyright (typically owned by a publisher or the songwriter). These are two separate rights, and you need licenses for both to use commercial music legally in a business context.

Platforms like YouTube use Content ID technology to detect copyrighted music in uploaded videos. When a match is detected, the rights holder can choose to block the video, monetize it (diverting ad revenue to themselves), or track its performance. A blocked video cannot be viewed by your audience, which can undermine a marketing campaign entirely. For businesses that regularly produce video content, music licensing solutions such as subscription-based sync libraries—Artlist, Musicbed, Epidemic Sound—provide commercially licensed music that can be used safely in online content. Always review the specific terms, however, as some libraries distinguish between personal and commercial use, and some exclude broadcast or paid advertising.