Stock image illustration (licensing)

Stock image illustration (licensing)

[Bagas Sanjaya]

Hi,

Imagine that there is a new Linux kernel contributor, contributing
documentation patches. As it is the habit from her company, she adds
stock images from various sources (which may or may not be related
to the doc), e.g. freepik or pexels [1], as illustration.

However, on the source file, the image requires attribution. Yet,
the attribution instruction doesn't mention image license (she
attributes as "Illustration of foo by bar on pexels"), hence
all rights reserved. Can that stock image be added to the kernel
docs (which is licensed under GPL)?

PS: none is lawyer here.

Thanks.

[1]: https://www.freepik.com/free-photo/young-man-chatting-via-net-book-during-work-break-coffee-shop-male-sitting-front-open-laptop-computer-with-blank-copy-space-screen-your-text-message-advertising-content_34485193.htm

-- 
An old man doll... just what I always wanted! - Clara

Re: Stock image illustration (licensing)

[Jonathan Corbet]

Bagas Sanjaya <bagasdotme@gmail.com> writes:

> Hi,
>
> Imagine that there is a new Linux kernel contributor, contributing
> documentation patches. As it is the habit from her company, she adds
> stock images from various sources (which may or may not be related
> to the doc), e.g. freepik or pexels [1], as illustration.
>
> However, on the source file, the image requires attribution. Yet,
> the attribution instruction doesn't mention image license (she
> attributes as "Illustration of foo by bar on pexels"), hence
> all rights reserved. Can that stock image be added to the kernel
> docs (which is licensed under GPL)?

I am rather curious as to why you are asking this question.

Images, like everything else, need clear licensing.  Images that do not
have a GPL-compatible license cannot be added to the kernel.

But we are certainly not in the habit of decorating our documentation
with "stock images", so this is not a question that has ever come up.

jon

Re: Stock image illustration (licensing)

[Greg Kroah-Hartman]

On Tue, Jun 06, 2023 at 09:21:23PM +0700, Bagas Sanjaya wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> Imagine that there is a new Linux kernel contributor, contributing
> documentation patches. As it is the habit from her company, she adds
> stock images from various sources (which may or may not be related
> to the doc), e.g. freepik or pexels [1], as illustration.
> 
> However, on the source file, the image requires attribution. Yet,
> the attribution instruction doesn't mention image license (she
> attributes as "Illustration of foo by bar on pexels"), hence
> all rights reserved. Can that stock image be added to the kernel
> docs (which is licensed under GPL)?
> 
> PS: none is lawyer here.

Then please consult one if you have questions about licensing issues.
Would you ask a lawyer about dental problems?  :)

thanks,

greg k-h