Copyright and cover images: why to skip celebrity, movie and brand pictures

For years, a lot of Facebook covers were built from someone else's pictures: a still from a favorite film, a photo of a singer, an anime character, a sports team's logo. This domain itself used to host a big gallery of covers like that. When we relaunched the site in 2026, we didn't bring any of them back, and this guide explains why.

This is general information for people in the US, written by designers, not lawyers. It isn't legal advice. If you have a specific situation, especially a business one, talk to a lawyer.

Most images belong to someone

In the US, copyright applies automatically. The moment a photographer takes a picture or an artist finishes a drawing, they own the copyright in it. No registration or copyright notice is needed. That includes:

• Photos of celebrities, which are usually owned by the photographer or a photo agency, not by the celebrity.
• Movie and TV stills, posters and promotional art, owned by the studio.
• Anime, cartoon and comic characters, owned by the studios and publishers, and often trademarked as well.
• Video game screenshots and art.
• Album covers and band photos.
• Most photos you find on a search engine, a wallpaper site or a fan page.

Finding an image online doesn't make it free to use. A picture with no visible watermark or credit is still owned by someone.

Covers are public and permanent

A cover is shown to everyone who visits your profile or Page, even people who aren't your friends, and it sits there for months. Facebook's Pages terms have long said that covers must not be deceptive or misleading or infringe anyone else's intellectual property, and its general terms say the same about everything you post.

Rights holders and their agents do search for their images. Photo agencies use automated image matching, and studios and brands send takedown notices in bulk. When Facebook gets a valid report, it typically removes the content and notifies you. Repeat reports can lead to restrictions or a disabled account. For a business Page, losing the Page is a much bigger problem than losing a cover.

"It's just a fan cover" isn't a defense

A few common beliefs don't hold up:

• "I'm not making money from it." Non-commercial use still needs permission. It can matter when a court weighs fair use, but it doesn't make copying automatically fair.
• "I credited the source." Credit is good manners, but it isn't a license.
• "Everybody does it." Many people do, and most of them never hear about it. Some do, and the takedown can arrive years later.
• "It's fair use." Fair use is a real US legal doctrine, but it's decided case by case. Using a whole image as decoration, without commenting on it or transforming it, is the weakest kind of claim.
• "I edited it." Adding text or a filter to someone else's photo usually doesn't change who owns it.

Celebrities: the photo and the person

A celebrity cover raises two separate issues. The photo itself is copyrighted, usually by the photographer. And the person has rights in their own name and likeness. Many US states recognize a "right of publicity" that stops others from using someone's identity for commercial purposes without consent.

On a personal profile, the photo copyright is the main risk. On a business Page it's both. A famous face on your bakery's cover can look like the celebrity endorses your bakery, and that's exactly what the right of publicity is meant to stop.

Brands, logos and team marks

Logos, team names, mascots and product names are usually trademarks. Trademark law is mostly about confusion: using a mark in a way that makes people think a company is connected to you. A fan putting a team logo on a personal cover is a low risk in practice, but it's still the team's property and they can ask for it to be removed.

For businesses, it's simpler: don't use another company's logo on your cover unless you're an authorized dealer or partner and have permission. Saying "we serve locally roasted coffee" in words is fine; putting the roaster's logo on your cover without asking is not.

What you can use

There are plenty of safe options, and most of them look better than a cropped movie still anyway.

1. Your own photos. Pictures you took are yours. If they show other people, ask before using them on a public cover.
2. Original designs. Patterns, gradients and text you make yourself, for example with our cover maker, are yours to use. The maker generates every pattern from scratch from your settings, and the fonts are open-source.
3. Public domain works. In the US, works published before 1931 are in the public domain as of 2026, along with most works created by US federal government employees as part of their jobs. Old paintings, vintage illustrations and historic photos are a rich source, but check the specific item: a modern photo of an old painting can carry its own rights in some places.
4. Openly licensed images. Some photographers release work under Creative Commons licenses. Read the license: many require credit, some forbid commercial use or edits.
5. Licensed stock photos. Paid and free stock sites grant a license, but the terms vary. Some exclude use in logos or social profile branding, and editorial-only images (common for celebrity and event photos) can't be used for promotion.
6. Official fan kits. Some studios, teams and artists publish official wallpapers or social media kits for fans. If they do, those come with permission built in. Check the terms on the official site.

Showing what you love without copying it

You can still make a cover about the things you're a fan of. Use the team's colors without the logo. Write your own line about the band instead of quoting the lyrics. Make a pattern in the colors of a film's poster. Mention the show in your bio or in a post. Fans recognize these references, and nobody owns a color.

If you get a takedown

If Facebook removes your cover for an intellectual property report, it will usually tell you who reported it and why. If you used someone else's image, replace it with something you own and move on. If you believe the report is a mistake, for example the photo is yours, Facebook provides a way to respond or dispute it. Don't simply re-upload the same image; repeated reports count against your account.

The short version

Covers made from celebrity photos, movie and TV images, anime art and brand logos almost always use someone else's property. They're public, they stay up for months, and rights holders look for them. Your own photos and original designs avoid the problem entirely and say more about you. That's why the categories for celebrities, movies, TV shows, anime, games, cars and company logos are gone from this site, and why every preset in the maker uses shapes and words we made ourselves.

Questions