Images, illustrations, fonts, icons, videos, music, texts and code on your website are almost always protected by copyright. In the EU you need a licence for each one, and you should be able to show it if a rights holder asks.
The legal frame
Copyright in the EU rests mainly on the InfoSoc Directive (2001/29/EC) and the Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market ((EU) 2019/790), applied through each country's law. Protection arises automatically, without registration, and generally lasts 70 years after the author's death. Finding a file through a search engine or on social media does not give you the right to use it.
Common assets and what to check
- Photos and illustrations: the licence type (royalty-free, rights-managed, editorial only), the permitted uses, and whether people or brands shown need releases.
- Fonts: desktop licences often do not cover web embedding; check the web licence and its page-view limits. Many open fonts use the SIL Open Font License.
- Icons and templates: free sets frequently require attribution.
- Video and music: background music needs synchronisation rights; platform libraries limit where the content can be reused.
- Code and libraries: open-source licences come with conditions. Permissive licences (MIT, BSD, Apache 2.0) require keeping copyright and licence notices; copyleft licences such as the GPL can require you to share source code when you distribute.
- AI-generated content: check the tool's terms of use, and be aware that providers of general-purpose AI models have transparency duties under the AI Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689).
Keep a register
- For every asset: where it appears, the source, the licence, the date, any attribution required, and the proof of purchase.
- Store licences and invoices where the whole team can find them.
- Check expiry dates for time-limited licences and remove assets when they end.
- Add attributions where licences require them, usually in the footer or a credits page.
- Run a licence scan on your code dependencies before each release.
Remove the asset, keep a copy of the claim, and check your register for a licence. Rights holders actively search the web for unlicensed images, so a register is cheaper than a settlement. See the Remediation Center.
This guide is general information about EU rules, not legal advice. Requirements can differ by country and by business: check with your data protection authority or a lawyer for your case.