❓Answering Common Questions: Since I'm making money, What Images can I Safely Use? ©️
I'm sure all of us have heard of copyright laws, which is taken to a whole new level when you (potentially) are earning money.
So I wanted to spend a little time discussing how you can protect yourself (and Steemit) from being asked to take down some content. I'm sure just about everyone here knows how much our community frowns upon plagiarism as well as @cheetah bot who helps protect us from it. How would you feel if someone took your post out of nowhere and started making money off YOUR WORK?!?!
What some Steemians may not know is that this also applies to the pictures we use. While there are a ton of images we can use (commercially) there are just as many that we can not due to their licenses. Even giving a source for the picture changes doesn't change this!
Q: What images are safe for me to use?
What you're looking for are things marked as public domain, creative commons and/or free for reuse licenses. Make sure you look for it to be commercially reusable since there are other licenses that allow use, but not for making money. Some websites that only provide 'free to commercially use' images include:
Pixbay
Pexels
Wikimedia Commons
Wikpedia
Maxpixel
Feel free to mention more sites in the comments.
Q: Can't I just use Google? Some of those other sites make it so hard to search for what I'm looking for.
Why yes...yes you can just use Google. However, to protect yourself, you just want to do a little tweak.
First you'll want to go into a normal Google image search and click the tools button:
This will expand some additional options underneath. Click on the one named Usage rights (which expands into a dropdown menu) and select Labeled for Reuse.
Anything you find under this search can safely be used in your Steemit posts without any concern. I'm sure there's the chance of there being a non-free image that's has its license mislabeled, but that's not your fault.
Q: Do I still need to give a source link to pictures labeled as public domain, creative commons or labeled for reuse?
While some of these licenses state that no attribution is needed (i.e. you don't have to give a link) so of them do. On top of this, here on Steemit those links to an images source is commonly how readers easily know that it's not your own personal photo.
Because of both of these reasons, I tend to recommend being safe and Always leaving a link to where you got a photo from, even if the license says it's not needed. This does also mean a link to the webpage it's on, not to the .jpg (or whatever) itself or to a third party hosting site like imgur.
Q: What about memes? Like the ones with Kermit the Frog...he's surely copyrighted.
Meme's are a bit of a gray area. Usually people remind us that satire or parody pieces often fall under 'fair use,' meme's don't always fall into that category, depending on the judge. Most of the time, it's not even worth the image owners caring to bother with getting a meme taken down. But you can never know for sure.
In the last few years there's actually been a $900 lawsuit filed against a German blog owned by getDigital, that had posted a meme of Socially Awkward Penguin. The image was actually owned by National Geographic with it's rights being handled by Getty Images
The site owners responded to the suit with:
“The Awkward Penguin is not just a random image we stole from Getty’s database, but one of the most well-known Internet memes,” the company protested in its blog post. Said Bastian Krug, the online marketing manager at getDigital: “We have no idea why they chose us.”
-Quote Source
On top of this, the website Know Your Meme keeps a public log of memes and images that have been modified or removed so it could comply with the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act.) You can view their full list here.
To sum this up, posting memes for money falls into a gray area. While I'd have to think most the time nothing will come from it, there is no way I can say your guaranteed safe from a 'take down' request.
For further reading on "If Memes are Illegal:"
Do Memes Violate Copyright Law?
How copyright is killing your favorite memes
While I'm sure this wasn't the answer many of you wanted to hear, I'd rather be as accurate as possible. However, if you find an image under a 'free to use' license and make it into you a meme...you ARE safe.
To prevent you from leaving on a down note, here's a copyright safe kitty!!
Feel free to ask me anything. I'm here to Help!
Previous Helpful Posts for Newbies
❓Answering Common Questions: How do I Visually Spiff up my Steemit Posts? Are there any Templates available? 🎀
❓Answering Common Questions: What are all these keys in my wallet? Why so many? 🔑
❓Answering Common Questions: What should I write about? ✏️
❓Answering Common Questions: I'm getting frustrated...Are my Expectations too high? 🙍
❓Answering Common Questions: Why am I not getting votes? What can I do about it? 📷
❓Answering Common Questions: Why am I not getting votes? What can I do about it? 📷
❓Answering Common Questions: Where does the money come from? 💵
❓Answering Common Questions: Should I use 100% Steem Power or 50%/50% Payouts for my Post❓
❓Answering Common Questions: Reputation and Flags! What's this Number by my Name? #️⃣️
❓Answering Common Questions: Steem, Steem Power, Steem Dollars and What Should I do with them? 💲
What's this Slider Bar and Vote Power Percentage? What's the Difference?
Why Newbies Should be Excited about the next Hardfork
Answering Common Questions about Voting and Curation
Don't Miss the Show! Follow the Steemit Talk Podcast (STP) Account
New STP Website!!
Are you new to Steemit and Looking for Answers? - Try https://www.steemithelp.net.
Image Sources:
Take Image Down Notice
Sleeping Kitty
Thank you for taking time to explain this. This is a topic i haven't thought about before (being a newbie and non techy person! ) upvoted and resteemed!
Thank you!
It's definitely not something we'd think of on most social media sites...since we don't make money there. We've really not seem too many issues occur here over the last year, but I figure as this place gets bigger, we'll get more onto those 'monitors' radars. :)
By the way...Welcome to Steemit!
Didn't know about that google image search option! Thanks :-)
Definitely happy to have been helpful! :D
I didn't know either, great article👍
I allready new about this, but i think it is good to help the people on Steemit. Makes it the community i assume it is, and will be. Thanks for the post @sykochica
Thank you! and welcome to Steemit!
I try to help out where I can. :D
I have one question, if I post images I created with no intention of posting on any other url then is it necessary to have a link with the comics, drawings or videos I create?
In other words, I intend to post 100% original work and is this acceptable?
Thank you for your attention to my question.
If it's something completely original to you (art, photo, etc) than no link is needed. Only for things that aren't created by you. :)
Thanks for the quick reply, much appreciated.
Great post @sykochica !
Agreed one thousand and ten percent!!!
Thank you !
thanks for sharing this information
So glad you mentioned Creative Commons hence the resteem. :-)
Pete
I started writing a comment but it just got longer and longer so I reworked it all into this Steemit post:
The most important parts are my questions:
I'd like a pet Unicorn. :-)
How about a flaming moose?
Do you work for Creative Commons or are you just a fan?
I suspect if you class promoting CC as working for them then I suppose unofficially yes I do. TBH I prefer unofficial Advocate.
What do you think of the idea of some Steemit CC code that rewards artists via some tech algorithm?
OK I suppose? CC is about making sure people use things fairly and that the original producers work is not abused, used for commercial gain where it is specifically forbidden but most importantly credit is given to the owner.
I'd actually prefer two elements tbh.
A: Something that trickles back to creativecommons.org as they survive on donations.
B: Some small reward for people presenting their work under Creative Commons to encouraged them to adopt it.
I believe that if people on Steemit produced their work under CC it would eventually eradicate all this plagiarism I keep reading about on here.
That's exactly what I'm talking about!!!
...and some should go to CC.
Even 50/50 is better than naught.
Steemit is ONLY THE FIRST!
Eventually there will be more and more social media blockchain sites.
CC should get a widget or something happening before the avalanche and they're left standing there with their pants down and their junk in their hand.
You know, I just pronounced your name. Psycho Chica. Grinning. There's a messsage in there somewhere...
Hehe, definitely! It's actually been my gamer tag for a looooong time. But I love the irony on so many levels considering I'm pretty dang sane, have zero latino/spanish heritage as well as the strangeness of the english language itself.
Hi Syko. Lol. I have a question. Steemit pays every so often, 7 days? Does this mean that if someone happens on the post after it has been paid out, they cannot upvote it and get curation? Can the author as well still get paid out after the 7 days should the post get continued attention and votes?
Please decipher for us?
Thanks,
J.
Heyas. :)
After the 7 day payout period, no additional rewards are given to the author nor to any curators.
However, people can still vote on it (reducing their vote power % by a little bit) but it just doesn't actually change the money part of things.
Very cool. Thanks a bunch.
:)
Thanks new and dumb, this is very helpful as never know where to go to find out anything.
these are some really great points @sykochica . thanks for sharing!