The images in GeoDIL are the property of those who submitted them to the library. The U.S. Constitution and the Federal Copyright Act give photo owners exclusive rights to make copies, prepare other photos based on the original, distribute copies, and publicly display the photos. The same rights can be assumed to apply to digital images, although some complicated legal issues have not been completely resolved. Fair Use and Educational Exemption. Fair Use permits the use of work for criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research.
Fair use means incidental use.
The owner's rights and interest remain protected. Educational Exemption provides the educational community considerable freedom in using copyrighted material. Loading images from GeoDIL into virtual carousels or other image-viewing programs falls under the Educational Exemption category provided the organization using the material is a nonprofit educational institution, the use is part of the regular curriculum of a class, the material is in a classroom, the material has been legally obtained, and the materials will not be copied or duplicated.