Image licensing

Every portrait needs a clear right to appear

Biography Compass uses public-domain, openly licensed or permission-based images and publishes an attribution beside each image whenever the licence requires it.

Accepted image sources

We prefer institutional archives and Wikimedia Commons files with a documented creator, source and licence. Creative Commons images are used under their stated terms. Public-domain status must be supported by the source record rather than assumed from an image’s age or online availability.

Attribution and machine-readable rights

Visible credits name the creator or institution and licence. Biography structured data also provides the credit, licence URL and source page when available, helping search engines and readers trace reuse conditions.

Complete-image presentation

Portraits are displayed with a fitted foreground image so the original frame is not cropped. A blurred backdrop fills the surrounding panel without replacing or obscuring the licensed image.

Placeholders

When we cannot verify a suitable reusable portrait, we use a typographic initials panel. We do not copy an unlicensed photograph simply to fill an empty space.

Rights concerns

If an attribution or licence record appears incorrect, send the page address, image description and supporting rights information through the project owner’s published contact channel. We will investigate and remove or correct the image when warranted. Related standards appear in our editorial standards and corrections policy.