Google Images

[Doug Taylor]

Can you use pictures from Google Images on your own site? I cannot find any stock images but Google images are full of the types of pictures I need but I dont want to use them if this is not ok with the owner of the pictures.

[TommyBussey]

Originally Posted by Doug Taylor

Can you use pictures from Google Images on your own site? I cannot find any stock images but Google images are full of the types of pictures I need but I dont want to use them if this is not ok with the owner of the pictures.

You're taking a gamble. Google even states "Image may be subject to copyright."

There has got to be royalty free stock photos out there for you. Gettyimages, stockxchange, istockphoto, etc.

Keep digging and save yourself from possibly getting into copyright infringement issues. That won't be fun for you.

- Tommy

[Sylviane]

I see people on Squidoo using lots of Google images on their lenses, and I use some myself. Before I do I make sure that they don't seem to be some kind of private pictures with an embedded signature of if I clearly see that the picture is part of a specific private site only.

You can find that out when you click on the picture and see where it leads you. After a while your eye will be trained to recognized the tell tell signs.

[connor_zen]

The best place I've found for free royalty-free images is the Stock Xchange Free Images site (just google "Stock Exchange Images"). All of the images on that site are licensed for free through the Creative Commons, meaning that you can use them on your site, publications, etc. Some of the photos require you to credit the photographer, but not all. Hope this helps!

You might also want to try the "Wikimedia Commons."

P.S. A good chunk of the photos through Google Image Search are copyrighted and can't be used (although whether the original author would ever find out is debatable).

[AmyBrown]

Originally Posted by Sylviane

I see people on Squidoo using lots of Google images on their lenses, and I use some myself. Before I do I make sure that they don't seem to be some kind of private pictures with an embedded signature of if I clearly see that the picture is part of a specific private site only.

You can find that out when you click on the picture and see where it leads you. After a while your eye will be trained to recognized the tell tell signs.

The inclusion of an image in Google images has no bearing on the copyright. There are no "tell tell" signs of a copyrighted image. It has nothing to do with a private picture or private site, only about who legally holds the copyright to the individual image.

I hope that's not the information you give in the Squidoo book in your signature

[Tina Golden]

P.S. A good chunk of the photos through Google Image Search are copyrighted and can't be used (although whether the original author would ever find out is debatable).

Whether the owner would ever find out is beside the point, isn't it? It's illegal whether you are caught or not.

Tina

[Colin Palfrey]

Using an image which you do not own, could land you with a fine or worse.
My advise would be - don't create more trouble for yourself.

I know you were hoping everyone would say
"use it nobody will care"

But the truth is they might...Just my 2c

[Dan C. Rinnert]

Google Images is not a stock image site. Google does not ask permission (though you could argue one could opt-out using their robots.txt file) to include images, nor does Google compensate the owner of the images.

I really think Google needs to do a much, much better job of making sure people know that the images it displays are (probably in most cases) copyrighted images, and that they are not free for the taking.

There are no "tell-tale" signs to identify whether an image is copyrighted. A copyright notice is NOT a requirement. Copyright is secured upon the creation of a work and the lack of a notice proves nothing other than the lack of a notice. It is best to assume that an image is copyrighted and not use it unless you have the permission of the copyright holder.

Also, if someone tells you that they're not the copyright holder, but that it's okay to use, don't take them at their word. They might have downloaded the image somewhere, thinking it was free for the taking. If you use the image, you are liable. In court, you cannot use the argument that so-and-so said it was okay. Unless that person misrepresented him or herself as the copyright holder, you don't have a leg to stand on. As a publisher (and if you have a website or a digital product, make no mistake, you are a publisher), it is your responsibility to check on the copyright status of a work.

So, don't assume any image in Google Images is okay to use. You'll only be setting yourself up for potential liabilities that could go upwards of $25k to $50k and higher in terms of penalties and default judgments.

Only use images you create yourself or you find on reputable stock image sites. And be sure to keep track of where you found specific images, and keep a copy of the license agreement on file with the image.

[Doug Taylor]

Thanks everyone I was not sure if it was illegal or not. I will keep looking.

[Pat Ordenes]

PM me if u like Doug.
I have a bit of a library.