Rant: Reasons You Could Be Sued: Copyright Infringement
Saturday 7th November, 2009
Sued. Site shut down. Exiled from your host (or blogger). And in very extreme cases, jailed. The thing about the internet is that there is SO much stuff, and sometimes that stuff gets mangled and mixed up, and sometimes you can’t be sure what is free reign and what’s not. One thing that almost always isn’t? Photographs. Since joining the book blogging community (which I love) I’ve noticed this trend where people seem to think they can use whatever they find for whatever they want. Either that or they realize that photos are copyright and they don’t care. So as a warning to those of you who don’t care, and a small educated lesson for those of you who do but just don’t know, I present: Reasons You Could Be Sued: Copyright Infringement
As a web designer, I have to deal with copyright daily. I have to make sure the client has the rights to use the photos they’re using, or I have to make sure I have the rights to use the ones I’m putting on their site or in their layout. Unless they’re listed on a stock site, photographs usually aren’t free reign to do as you’d like with. Even if they ARE on stock sites, there are still limits to what you can do with said photos. Some allow you to use them as long as you don’t use them commercially, while some let you do whatever you want with them as long as you give credit. You have to read the terms of use which almost EVERY stock site has! Even sites like Istock.com, where you have to purchase your photos, have limitations. Not reading the terms can land you in a world of hurt.
Just because something is on the internet does not mean it’s yours to use. If you can’t find who owns it, don’t use it. If you don’t know where it’s from, don’t use it. And the excuse ‘well it’s on the internet so I can do what I want’ will not hold up in court. That’s like an author posting a chapter of their book for you to read, you erasing the name on it and calling it your own. It’s wrong, and it’s illegal. That’s not even mentioning the trouble you can get into if the subject of your photo is underage.
Also, just because you “made” a layout with an image in it does not make it yours. And redistributing that layout? Not only gets YOU in trouble, but can get the person you made it for in trouble. That’s not to say the person actually USING the layout isn’t to blame either, you need to use your common sense too! And SELLING layouts, with images you don’t have the rights/permission to use, can cost you so much it’s not even mildly worth it, especially if the original owner makes a profit off of those photos. Not only will you owe them for copyright infringement, you will owe them the lost wages they didn’t receive when you STOLE their photo.
Just as an example here are the steps someone can take against you if you’re using their photos without permission:
- Contact you directly: This isn’t scary (unless we’re talking a big company here), but this is also usually the first step a person will take to get their property off of your site.
- Contact your host: Did you know, that if you’re using something (photograph, mp3, etc) illegally the person who owns said item only has to contact your host to have your site shut down? All they have to do is offer some type of proof that they own it and your site could be gone like that *snap* Of course, most hosts will ask you to remove said item first, but they’re not required to.
- They can sue! This isn’t a joke, even mildly. Photographers, and even teens who do it for fun, take their work very seriously, as they should! A photograph, just like a painting or a song, is art, it’s work, and it belongs to the person who created it, whether it’s properly copyrighted or not.
- You CAN go to jail! Copyright infringement is not a joke, it’s real, and you can go to jail for it! Just ask the founders of the MP3 sites who were sent to jail, or fined amounts of money they will never in their life have.
So then, what can you do to avoid these things?! It’s really really easy… Use Common Sense. If a photo doesn’t belong to you, you don’t have permission to use it, and you didn’t buy it: DON’T USE IT. If you download a photo from a stock site, or pay for a photo on a stock site, then read the terms of use. If you DO use a photo you don’t have permission to use anyway, if the person who owns it emails you and asks you to take it down, do it. Don’t argue, don’t ask for proof, and don’t be rude. They’re doing you a service by contacting you first without going to your host. I will be the first one to admit that sometimes there is a photo that I love so much I HAVE to use it, but if someone emailed me and asked me to take it down, it would be taken down before I even emailed them back.
In short, use your common sense. Think about morals. And don’t assume that just because something is on the internet it’s yours to use. It’s not.
This is not just a rant, by all means, if you have any questions please ask. If you have comments, please say something. Just don’t be rude. I’m here to help and educate :)
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Comments
Thanks so much for the useful info. This is great info that everyone should know. :o)
-Lisa
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Very interesting read. I have heard tidbits about this before but never from someone who was in the know and could actually relate to a place i’m at. i will definitely be more careful with using things from the internet. Pretty sure at the end of all my posts you’re going to see a whole lot more credits now.
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Great post. I often think of this, but I admit I don’t pay enough attention. Most of the images I use are clip art, however, I have been searching photo images to make a button. Thanks for the information.
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Very interesting. Can this also apply to, for example, photos of book covers? For example, if I make a review of a book, look up in google for the cover photo and save it and upload it myself and put it in the website, can I get in trouble?
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Not really. I’m sure someone could get mad over it, but you’re using it to promote a product, so I highly doubt anyone is going to raise a fuss over it. You’re doing them more of a service for their product them harming it.
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I just went onto the site where I picked my header picture off of and saw that they were pictures this person found online with no copyright. I guess I’ll be looking for a new header. No idea it was this serious. Thanks for the heads up!
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When I write my now frequently rare reviews, I insert a copy of the book cover also. I do this when I list books I want to buy, or books I was lucky enought to win. Reading Patty’s question and your answer is a little reassuring – although I really never considered that an author might get upset seeing his/her book cover on the internet. Especialy if I’m saying it’s a good book and others should try it out.
I’m hoping this is okay to do, because just reading about books, without seeing the accompanying visual links to the books can be boring. I like seeing the covers to books on other blogs.
Another time that photos are probably “lifted” without thinking about copyright infringement is for the use of icons/avatars for blogs. When going to sites like funny cats, or I can haz cheezburger ( I know I’m getting the names wrong), you can find the same photo with many different captions from quite a variety of people.
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Mardel, I can almost without a doubt assure you that using a cover isn’t going to get you in trouble. My point was more towards that of layouts and ‘blog buttons’ and such, where people take others photos without permission or credit.
When writing a review you’re not claiming to own the image of the book, and such things are used as a means of marketing books anyway – if a cover can draw a person to it enough then they read your review then they may decide to purchase the book – where as they may not have heard of it otherwise. So in the instance of book covers, and the like as I said to Patty, you’re doing more of a service to the author/publisher by using the cover then you are harming them or stealing their revenue.
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Just happened to noticed Elie’s comments. Copyright applies to everything. Not just images, it applies to textures, brushes and clip arts too!
This is a great post, I wanted to blog about this too. Like you, I also noticed several blogs using images found on Google. As I was telling someone the other day, just because Google Images, Getty Images, etc allow you to search the images they own, or have collected, does not mean that you’re entitled to take them.
And even if you took an image you found on Google, edited it on Photoshop, it does not make you ‘free’ from the copyright. You are still violating copyright.
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Exactly Kate, thanks for pointing that out! Also a lot of people (teens and the like) don’t mind if you use their photos (although not everyone, so don’t assume!) as long as you give credit. It’s not hard to do and neither is asking permission so there is no reason you can’t do it!
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Very useful. I bookmarked this for reference. Thank you.
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For some reason, I can only imagine an author getting upset over her book image posted if it is not a favorable review.
But sewing someone, anyone, is often very costly. More than likely you’ll go through the small things like an email/official letter rather than being throw into jail (unless this is serious copyright infringement to do harm), etc.
Either way – this entry was a lot of great advice! I don’t think a lot of people are fully aware of copyright infringement and blogs.
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I agree Allison, and even still I don’t believe that the authors themselves have rights over the covers, but the artist & publishing house, so really the author couldn’t do anything about it anyway.
And very true about going through email etc first, but sometimes that doesn’t work – trust me, some people don’t get the hint. Like hell, I’ll let someone steal something of mine… when they get paperwork in their mail they act really fast. Plus try telling a professional photographer that suing someone is costly. You will then have to pay for their lawyer fees :)
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Oh I read this today:
Giving credit to the source of a copied work does not mean that the copier is not an infringer: It just means that he or she is not a plagiarist. Acknowledging the source of the copyrighted material does not substitute for obtaining permission to use it.
Source: http://www.sideroad.com/Legal_Advice/copyright-fair-use.html (good informative post on copyright)
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Very true, and you are right without a doubt. But a lot of the photos are taken (on blogs and the like) from deviantart and places of that sort – most people on there will allow you to use their photos as long as you ask & credit them, is all I meant. Giving credit still doesn’t give you the RIGHT to use them!
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