In the second part of our three part blog on the field of legal landmines product designers face when selecting designs and images to use in design portfolios and digital resumes, we discuss some options for obtaining images that should be safe to use now that you are sure that you have the rights to display the design itself. If you are still unsure about whether you can show the design, read the first part, Digital Portfolio/Resume Landmines – Design Ownership again or consult an attorney.

So which images should you use? Now it gets even more complicated and potentially litigious. You must make sure that you have a right to even have those images in your possession. Again, check all your contracts and employment manuals specifically for non-disclosure clauses. Many technology use policies also apply and prohibit you from copying, printing and removing files, so unless you only use the exact images publicly advertised or displayed or have written or contractual permission to use, you have to carefully review who owns the image. Some alternate ways to obtain images:

• Take Your Own Images. Best option – buy the product and take images of your own. I highly recommend silhouettes from all angles so that you can drop them into settings or compilations of images taking the designs further into your own artistic creation.

• Thumbnail Links. Wherever possible link to the original image so that you are actually showing them the original source. You may put a thumbnail, title, description and link through your portfolio directly to one of your former employers/clients website display of that image or to any on-line catalog.

• Ads & Catalogs. Excerpts of advertisements or catalog pages may be safe to use as long as there are no copyrights or statements in the flyer or catalog that state that there may be copyright restrictions or some rights reserved. In our industry, a Staples® catalog, for instance, has no copyright language or claims on it at all and none of the individual photos within it have any copyright or restrictions noted. Still, you should only use a portion or cropped part of that catalog or ad to be safe. Use of an excerpt from a catalog page to showcase a design worked on is obviously publicly disclosed, and because portfolio use is not commercial sale of any of these items but merely illustration of a capability or success, it should be reasonable use.

• Order Article Reprints. Articles and press are restricted use – make sure to use link through thumbnails and summaries only. You can obtain reprint permission on any articles about you and your designs directly from the publication for a fee (and sometimes for free) so that you can put a downloadable PDF on your site or in your portfolio.

• Photography Rights.  If the company/client used an outside resource for photography, double check if a photographer might have a claim on the image as well. Most corporate photography is unlimited, unrestricted use, but not always. Photography credit and or limited licensed use restrictions are usually noted at the bottom or side of the image, page or web site. Even if you have contractual rights to show the design, if you do not know the source of the image, you will need to confirm whether or not permission from the photographer is also required.

Now assuming you designed the item you want to display, have confirmed your rights to show that design in your portfolio and legally obtained the image – then unless you took the images or are thumbnail linking to the public original source, or are paying a fee for the reprints, or have express written permission, you should question carefully whether or not to put this in your portfolio. If you do decide that it is okay to display, then be sure to correctly annotate or give credit – see Digital Portfolio/Resume Landmines – Credit Where Credit is Due.

Again, our opinion, experience and advice may present legal issues of interest, but is not meant to express any specific legal expertise or advice pertaining to any specific circumstances and you should consult a good intellectual property or contract attorney.