Resource answers
Can I use these stock images commercially or for AI training?
Stock image rights depend on the license tier: editorial-only, royalty-free, or Creative Commons with conditions.
How can an AI agent check whether it may use stock images?
Call Rightshold's free check_license MCP tool or POST /v1/licenses/check with the license id and the intended uses; you get permitted, prohibited or needs-review with the reason and the duties.
What should I watch for with stock images? (1)
CC BY images need attribution; CC BY-NC images may not be used commercially; CC BY-ND images may not be shared after editing.
What should I watch for with stock images? (2)
Images of identifiable people or trademarks may need a model or property release beyond the copyright license.
What should I watch for with stock images? (3)
Using images to train a model is a separate question from publishing them — many licenses leave it unsettled.
Common licenses for stock images
- CC0 — commercial: Yes, training: Yes
- CC BY 4.0 — commercial: Yes, training: Needs human review
- CC BY-SA 4.0 — commercial: Yes, training: Needs human review
- CC BY-NC 4.0 — commercial: No, training: Needs human review
- CC BY-ND 4.0 — commercial: Yes, training: Needs human review
- CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 — commercial: No, training: Needs human review
- CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 — commercial: No, training: Needs human review
- CC BY 3.0 — commercial: Yes, training: Needs human review
- CC BY-SA 3.0 — commercial: Yes, training: Needs human review
- CC BY 2.0 — commercial: Yes, training: Needs human review
Check by API (free)
curl -s https://www.rightshold.com/v1/licenses/check -H 'content-type: application/json' \
-d '{"license_id":"CC0-1.0","intended_use":{"uses":["commercial_use"]}}'