I'm not going to enter the debate about should they or shouldn't they but, Google Images is the first place that a lot of people go to find images.

The problem with this until now has been that users could not easily filter results by licensing rights.

Google has introduced a new image search filter that will allow users to filter image search results by usage rights.
To use the new usage rights filter option...

• select "advanced image search" on the main Google Images page.
  Once in the "advanced image search" page, you will find the usage rights options at the bottom of the page.
• In the usage rights menu users can select one of four options...
  • Labeled for reuse
    Your results will only include images labeled with a license that allows you to copy and/or modify the image in ways specified in the license.
  • Labeled for commercial reuse
    Your results will only include images labeled with a license that allows you to copy the image for commercial purposes, in ways specified in the license.
  • Labeled for reuse with modification
    Your results will only include images labeled with a license that allows you to copy and modify the image in ways specified in the license.
  • Labeled for commercial reuse with modification
    Your results will only include images labeled with a license that allows you to copy the image for commercial purposes and modify it in ways specified in the license.

The new usage rights filter for Google Image search is a great feature to introduce to learners. The filtering options are written in such a way that it is very clear which images students can or cannot use in the creation of their digital presentations.

Try it out by going to the Advanced Image Search at http://images.google.com/advanced_image_search.