Still Image Copyright Protection

Due to the increasing integration of information with today's modern technology, issues of copyright have become more complicated. People have an easier time accessing a huge body of information, and there are questions when they can or cannot use the information in their own works. Looking specifically at images from the web, these are some parameters to use of the image and whether the original source must be acknowledged.
An image becomes copyrighted the moment it is produced in a concrete medium of display. If the image was created after Jan 1, 1978, the copyright laws on the image last for the entire lifespan of the original author, and an additional seventy years after their death.
Under a policy known as "fair use", an author may use an image from another source without asking permission for the following purposes: scholarly work (example: students, professors, administration, nonprofit educational use), news reporting, parody, or criticism or comment. The author must cite the location they found the image, but still don't need permission to use it in their own works. Outside these context, the author does not fall under the fair use policy. For example, if a college student downloads copyrighted music, this is illegal because the download isn't functioning for scholarly use. Here, the student is just a person, not a "student".
The author cannot use the image as an example of their original work; this is plagiarism. By not citing where the image came from, it tells the reader that the image is an original work of that page. Taking credit for someone else's work, whether it's a portion, a paraphrase or all of it, is considered plagiarism.
If the use of the image does not apply within the parameters of fair use, the author must request permission from the original source for use of the image in their works. After permission is granted, they also need to cite where the image originally came from.

Sources
1)FACE: Friends of Active Copyright Education. Still Images Copyright Basics. 1 Oct 2007 http://www.csusa.org/face/stilim/index.htm.
2)"When Copying is Okay: The "Fair Use" Rule." Nolo: Your Legal Companion since 1971. Nolo Legal Companion. 1 Oct 2007 ..