Kuvapankki

Kuvapankki is Finnish for an image bank or stock photo library. It refers to a digital collection of photographs, illustrations, and other visual media that are made available for licensing and reuse in contexts such as journalism, design, advertising, education, and web publishing. The term is used broadly to describe both public collections and commercially operated repositories.

Images within a kuvapankki are typically accompanied by metadata and licensing information. Licensing models vary and can include Creative Commons licenses, public domain, or rights-managed terms. Users must comply with the specific terms, which may require attribution, restrict commercial use, or limit the ways in which an image may be used. Some images may be free to use, while others require payment or a license.

Content in kuvapankit is organized by categories, subjects, locations, and keywords to facilitate searching. Common considerations when using images from a kuvapankki include privacy and consent, especially for identifiable people, as well as permission related to trademarks, logos, and property releases. Users should review captions, credits, and license details to ensure proper use.

In Finland, the concept of a kuvapankki is applied similarly to image libraries in other countries. It is used by media organizations, educational institutions, businesses, and individual creators to source visual material. While many kuvapankki services are commercial, public institutions and libraries may also maintain image collections for non-commercial or educational purposes.