5 Tips about image copyright so you don't get flagged .. or sued.
Copyright is important, majorly important. Whether you are a photographer or someone looking for a nice image to use online for a blog post/ad/web banner etc.. you can find yourself with major problems if you or someone else runs afoul of copyright law. As a photographer this could mean lost earnings and even years spent in court - which is also expensive. As a user you could be looking at tens of thousands of dollars in fines and settlement fees.
Here are 5 tips to help you navigate this legal minefield:
1. Everything is copyrighted
This is not an assumption. This is legal fact. Everything is copyright protected. The second you hit the shutter on your camera and make a picture, you are the owner of the copyright for that picture. That goes for everyone. If you find a photo online and it says nothing next to it about licensing.. then it is by default “all rights reserved” copyright.
Source: Wikipedia
That means you cannot use it for anything, at all. But you want to use it? Ok, well find out who the picture belongs to, and ask! They might say yes, they might even let you use it for free. But if you don’t ask and the copyright holder finds out.. you haven’t a legal leg to stand on!
2. Google image search = BAD
Google image search is NOT a free image search tool. All google image search does is index all images on the web that its crawlers can find. It does not differentiate between 'free to use' and 'copyrighted’. In fact, its harder to determine through google image search what is and isn’t available for use.
IF you insist on using google image search, then first go to settings>advanced search and scroll down to the last option box labelled ‘usage rights’. Then select the option “free to use,share or modify, even commercially”. Why this option? Because we make money from our posts on steemit and so that can be interpreted as commercial use. Even then, it is your responsibility to ascertain that the image is indeed free (google isn’t infallible).
THE SAFEST option is to use stock image sites like stocksy, pixabay, stock exchange etc. Stock imagery sites have free use image libraries you can search.
3. Creative Commons
If you haven’t heard of creative commons as a content creator then what rock have you been living under?!
Creative Commons is a licensing system that allows people to attach specific license types that simply and clearly denotes they types of usage they will allow for their work.
Here you can see what they are:
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creative_Commons_license
If one of these licenses are not attributed to an image you find, then the all rights reserved copyright applies.
The best type of license to look out for is CC0 as it allows completely free usage of any kind!
You can also search by license type on certain sites, for example flickr. This link here takes you to a page on the flickr site that allows you to search images by license type. I recommend this: https://www.flickr.com/creativecommons/
4. Properly attribute the images
You NEED to properly attribute the image. The Creative Commons website explains how to do this in the context of their licenses: https://creativecommons.org/use-remix/get-permission/
If you do not attribute images properly then the assumption is that you are claiming it as your own work. That is theft and will definitely get you into trouble if you are caught.. it will certainly get your ass flagged on steemit and that will hurt your rep score.
If you aren’t sure if an image is creative commons attributed, then at the very least include the source link and who the image belongs to.
5. Don’t be a dick
The old adage “it is better to seek forgiveness than to ask permission” is bullshit. See how well that works for you in a court of law. Answer: not well. If an image is licensed and you cannot use it or you have already been forbidden from using it, then don’t. And if you ignore all my advice and do it anyway, and you get caught then there is only one way to handle the situation. If the person is willing to let it go if you just remove the image then do that immediately with profuse apologies. If they want you to pay for the license or take it down .. then you choose one of those options and apologise. If they don’t want to negotiate at all and instead are determined to take you to court, then cease all communications and lawyer up. All communications will be handled through your lawyer and you do what they tell you.. it could get expensive.
Whatever you do .. don’t be this jerk:
You would think he would learn his lesson after all the money he had to pay, but apparently he hasn’t. He still thinks that everything on the internet is free and his for the taking (except his own content of course) and that photographers maliciously put copyrighted materials online to entrap people like him. NO. Just NO. Chasing copyright thieves is a time consuming and expensive task and though you might get some money from it in the end, it could take a long time to see that cash and all that time could have been spent taking more photos and promoting ones business. Nobody wins.
Remember, photographers and other creatives make a living from the images they create. By using their work without permission you are taking away potential income from them.
Thanks for Looking.
Follow me and read more of my posts here: @fiftysixnorth
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Copyright is an extremely important issue. I, for one, produce most of my own images and all of my own video. What I don't produce is taken from pixabay or CC0 clipart.
Thank you for this important post.
Thanks! Its an important issue that is worth repeating many times.
Good information that everyone here should be aware of. Thank-you for writing this up and posting it.
Thanks! I think its important to be reminded of these issues from time to time.
@reported has voted on behalf of @minnowpond.
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Great post! I wrote several posts about this when I joined a few months back! It was time for another to be posted! Thanks! It's a subject dear to my heart. At least 2 high level members on here have used my images on Steemit - one with no source whatsoever, and one with a completely invalid source! I was just talking to someone on chat about this very matter! People think they are being nice by giving the SOURCE. Well, guess what? SOURCE does not pay my bills. Licensing fees do. I hope many will Resteem this!
Many do it out of ignorance for not just the law but decency as well. All you can really do is to try and reach as many people as possible to educate them on what is and isn't acceptable. I find most people are receptive. But it is an ongoing issue that needs to be repeated time after time.
Just a couple of days ago I got an email from a tourist magazine that saw an image of mine on Fineartamerica as an art print, and wanted to know if it would be OK to use my image in their magazine with credit.
I emailed back letting them know that I license mages for my living and don't do free work with the link to where the image can be licensed on Getty Images and thanked them for liking my work.
I did receive an email back thanking me for the link, but whether they will actually pay or just find someone else to give them free work remains to be seen. I'll be watching my statements closely! :-)
Keep an eye on the magazine too just in case.. There's always the chance they decide to use the image anyway. I've seen that happen plenty of times.
Yes, I sure will. But my guess is that they are likely Getty clients and would not like to rock the boat and risk their reputation and a lawsuit by infringing on copyright now that they know it is an image under contract with Getty. When they saw my image on FAA, they likely thought I was an amateur photographer offering only art prints. I will still watch the magazine. They sent me a link to the digital copy, so they know I'll be watching!
Well that would be good. I hope they do stay honest then :)
I'll be watching. :-)
I hope you will get lots of Upvotes and Resteems. My experience was that my posts about copyright were pretty much ignored except by a faithful few followers. The whales don't seem to be interested, because too many of them are guilty of abusing copyright! :-(
Thanks! It would be nice if this reaches many people. Its important to be aware of what is and isn't legal. Even online you are subject to the law and are held accountable. I think many people forget that.
My friend finds people stealing his images all the time and sends them emails asking for them to stop. I don't think they even give him credit most of the time. The internet is definitely a double-edged sword.
I have a file of literally hundreds of my images being used without my licensing fee being paid. My agencies are always in the process of tracking down some of the offenders and they have to pay up or face lawsuits, depending on the usage. It's very sad. It is a huge problem in an entitlement society. My problem with the way things work on Steemit, is that authors are making money and the photographers are not getting their licensing fees. It is basically commercial usage, and could result in models suing and other companies that are legitimately using the images suing for very big bucks. For example, with a Rights Managed image, all usages are tracked by the agencies. If a company purchases a RIGHTS Managed license, it can sue the agency big time if the image is being used somewhere else. Guess who that would be passed on to???
I think this is a whole can of worms I would not want to be in if I were using the work of others without payment being made.I know a handful of authors who pay for their stock images, and I applaud them!
Yes, being dishonest like that can cause you so much trouble its just not worth it.
It really isn't worth it is it? I can't imagine why so many are willing to take the risk of being sued. It's a very real and costly risk!
I guess they imagine its less hassle. i dunno.
That is rather infuriating. Most of them probably do it out of ignorance, but some people just don't care.
If you do a search on copyright on here, you will find a TON of posts that have made good bucks arguing why copyright is evil and a is curbing freedoms and has to be abolished! It's very disheartening - especially since the same people would have screaming fits if you stole their written content!
That is rather disheartening, and also hypocritical and insane.
It certainly is. One guy argued, and continues to argue with me when he gets the opportunity, that I can't own pixels and I can't sell something I still own. Explaining that I DO NOT SELL stock images, but only LICENSE the usage, does not make him quit the argument!
To be honest, in the first few weeks I felt like giving up on Steemit altogether, but a few good people stood behind me and I am still here! I have become like an ostrich, burying my head in the sand for a while, but you have awakened the passion I have to protect my image rights and the rights of others.
I am willing to protect the copyright of all written works, so is it asking too much for others to see that the copyright of images is protected? It has cost me many thousands of dollars in education, equipment and business overheads (not to mention my time) to produce my work.I run a business for profit - just like my dentist and plumber. I am not a charity organization. I wonder what it costs many blog writers to produce their sentence or two that I am willing to protect? Ten minutes of their time? A computer they use mostly for personal stuff anyway? Someone else's image as eye-candy? Aye, there is the rub. LOL!
I have had a couple more blog posts about the subject waiting in the sidelines for a while, so maybe now is the time to release them. My photographer friends all know about my passion for copyright education. I have given talks about it, and have written about it long before coming on Steemit! I will link to this post of yours when I post, if that is OK with you.
Please, by all means link this post :) it is frustrating to have to argue with people who say silly things like 'you can't own pixels'. Obviously never heard of the concept of intellectual property. If ideas are protected and can be bought and sold then so can pixels. Someone with that attitude will eventually end up in a situation where they get sued for infringement and it will be a costly lesson.
Thanks! Will probably do it tomorrow or the next day, as I have to tweak some things.
Great post I wish more people would read posts like this and change thee ways
Thanks mate, I hope so too.
:)
I totally agree. There's an ocean of CC0 images out there to use as a go-to. Better yet, use them to create your own derivative works. I just wrote about that yesterday.
Nice! That's a great article. Thanks for putting that together :)
Good advice!
Those of us who take a lot of photos have many that we aren't using or would be willing to share if folks asked nicely. If someone messaged me and said, "I need a pic of a yellow flower for my blog!" there would be several that I might be happy to share provided that they give me credit for the pic. That way, we both win — my photos get more exposure (pun intended... LOL!) and they get a decent pic for their blog without violating copyright!
Absolutely! Many people would be pleased to have their work used if they were just asked. I have done so in the past as well. Sometimes that's all we want.. to be asked :)