Board of Education Settles with "Settlement Money" Over Unauthorized Use of Online Illustrations in Booklet

WISECODE Take

Many people mistakenly believe that non-profit or educational promotions are exempt from copyright infringement liability. On August 19, 2026, Towada City in Aomori Prefecture announced that its Board of Education reached a settlement by paying settlement money for using online illustrations without authorization in a booklet. This case proves that even educational promotions must face legal consequences for unauthorized use of others' works. For business owners, the habit of grabbing images online is common in internal training, but the damage to reputation often exceeds the settlement amount. This shows that copyright protection applies regardless of profit-making status, and our IP compliance audit services can help companies eliminate such risks before publishing. First, internal materials should strictly use paid stock images or Creative Commons resources with clear licensing. Second, establish an image source registry to track where and how images were acquired, preventing employee habits from creating liabilities. The key to infringement lies in whether authorization exists, not the purpose of use.