You've laid out the page, the images look right, and you're one click from publishing. Before that click, it's worth spending two minutes per image on a quick rights check. This is a short, repeatable pass you can run image by image so a small problem gets caught now instead of after it's live.
This is general information to help you reduce risk, not legal advice. For specific situations, check with a qualified professional, and read the Picdrome Image License for what our own images allow. It's the action-stage capstone for our guide on using free and AI-generated images safely — if you want the reasoning behind each check, the deeper posts are linked throughout.
How to use this checklist
Run it once per image, not once per page. Each image carries its own rights, so a banner from one source and a product shot from another need separate passes.
- Open the image and its license or source page side by side.
- Walk the four checks below. Answer each one yes or no.
- If every answer is the safe one, publish.
- If any check fails, fix it first using the "if a check fails" section at the end.
Passing this list lowers your risk. It does not guarantee zero risk, and it isn't a substitute for legal advice on anything unusual.
The checklist
| # | Check | Safe answer | If it fails, see |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Do you actually have the right to use it? | Yes — license covers your use | Replace or get permission |
| 2 | Any hidden logos, brand text, or trademarked products? | No visible marks | Crop, edit out, or swap |
| 3 | Any recognizable real person or property without rights? | No, or you hold a release | Swap for an unidentifiable option |
| 4 | AI disclosure and attribution handled per the license? | Yes, where required | Add the credit or disclosure |
Check 1: Do you actually have the right to use it?
Confirm the license permits your specific use — and commercial use if your site sells anything.
- Did the image come from a source whose terms you've read?
- Does the license allow commercial and client work, not just personal use?
- For Picdrome images: they're free to use for personal and commercial website projects, subject to the Picdrome Image License. They are not public domain, not CC0, and not "royalty-free" in the paid-license sense — the terms still apply.
- Screenshots, images saved from search results, or files of unknown origin fail this check by default. If you can't name where it came from and what its terms say, treat it as not cleared.
Check 2: Any hidden logos, brand text, or trademarked products?
Zoom in. The risk is usually in the background, not the subject.
- Brand logos on a laptop lid, coffee cup, phone, or signage.
- Readable brand names on packaging, a building, or a screen.
- A distinctive, recognizable product whose design is trademarked.
- If you spot one, you can crop it out, edit it, or pick a cleaner image. For the full rundown on marks and why background details matter, see how to avoid copyright and trademark trouble.
Check 3: Recognizable people or property without rights?
A real, identifiable person generally needs a release before you imply they use or endorse your business.
- Is anyone in the image identifiable, and do you have a model release for the way you're using them?
- Is there a recognizable building, artwork, or private property that might need its own permission?
- If the image is AI-generated, no one in it is a real customer, team member, or endorser. Don't caption or place it as if they were. That's an editorial rule, not just a legal one.
- When in doubt, choose an image where faces are turned, distant, or stylized enough that no specific real person is implied.
Check 4: AI disclosure and attribution handled per the license
Two separate questions live here: do you owe a credit, and do you owe a disclosure?
- Attribution: Some licenses require a visible credit; some don't. Check the exact license for this image and place the credit where it asks. If you're unsure whether a free image needs crediting, see do you have to credit free images.
- AI disclosure: If the image is AI-generated, decide whether your context calls for saying so — editorial use, anything that could read as documentary, or a platform that requires it. Our walkthrough on whether to disclose AI-generated images covers when it matters.
- For Picdrome's own attribution and disclosure expectations, the current wording lives on the Picdrome Image License.
If a check fails: what to do before you publish
A failed check isn't a dead end. It's a small fix done now instead of a takedown later.
- No clear right to use it: Replace it with an image whose license you can read, or get written permission.
- Hidden logo or branded product: Crop it out, edit the mark, or choose a cleaner image.
- Identifiable person or property without rights: Swap for an option where no specific real person or place is recognizable.
- Missing credit or disclosure: Add the required attribution, and add an AI disclosure where your context calls for one.
When you fix one thing, re-run only that check, then publish.
A quick example
Say you're publishing a homepage hero and an "about" photo. The hero is a Picdrome image of a desk — clean license, no faces, no logos after a zoom-in. It passes all four checks; publish it.
The about photo shows a person at a laptop with a visible brand logo on the lid. Check 1 passes, but check 2 fails on the logo and check 3 needs a second look at the face. You crop the logo out and confirm the person is AI-generated and not presented as a named team member. Re-run checks 2 and 3, they pass, and it's ready.
In Plain English
This is a four-point, yes/no pass you run on each image right before you publish: do you have the right to use it, are there hidden logos or branded products, is there a recognizable real person or property without rights, and is attribution and AI disclosure handled per the license. It helps any founder, freelancer, or builder ship a site without leaving an obvious rights problem in plain sight. Use it as your last step before publishing, image by image. If a check fails, fix that one item, re-run it, and go. Passing reduces risk but doesn't guarantee none — for anything unusual, talk to a qualified professional, and for Picdrome's own terms read the Picdrome Image License. When you're done here, the full reasoning lives in using free and AI-generated images safely.
Got an image you're unsure about? Run it through the check above before it goes live, and if you cannot answer where it came from and what its licence permits, do not publish it. How to avoid copyright and trademark trouble with website images covers the wider sweep for logos, packaging and identifiable people.