How to know if you are allowed to use a certain picture on your website?

10 years ago

I recently got a header designed by logonerds and found out the hard way that they did not own the rights and am now battling Getty images over fines for the use of an image...

There are plenty of free stock photo sites out there... I like to use sxc.hu as they have a massive range of photos and images but you still need to check the rights :-)

If you are unsure I would always email the owner and see and if you are unsure don't take the image and get yourself a camera :-)

Danny

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Jack Gordon

10 years ago

You need to pay for the photos you use.

I like depositphotos.com - you can get practically any image for $1, with proof of payment and the right to use it for your business.

Be cheap about this at your great peril. Getty Images in particular is very aggressive. I have experienced it personally (and beaten them, by the way). But it was a tremendous distraction.

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Istvan Horvath

10 years ago

I heard that some pictures are copyrighted

You heard it wrong because EVERY picture is copyrighted

Unless the copyright owner places it in public domain, you need permission (usually bought with hard cash) to use them!

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Danny Cutts

10 years ago

Dont worry I am working on destroying logonerds over it... my solicitor is on the case :-)

If you want to know more about it its wrutten on my blog.

My solicitor is the master at getting away from getty images :-)

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NewbieLifer

10 years ago

If you are looking for just photos and not graphics, one option for using photos on your site is to create a pinterest board, then pin the photo you want to use. Then use the pinterest widget to display that one photo on your website. (that gives proper credit to whichever website you pinned it from).

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Danny Cutts

10 years ago

Originally Posted by NewbieLifer

If you are looking for just photos and not graphics, one option for using photos on your site is to create a pinterest board, then pin the photo you want to use. Then use the pinterest widget to display that one photo on your website. (that gives proper credit to whichever website you pinned it from).

Interesting tip....

Or just do what you like and get lawyered up

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xpesos

10 years ago

Another way is to use images from pinterest and give the credit link but that does not always count
I would prefer Flickr >> creative content images, and they have list there if you can place as it is or if placing a credit link is required

Originally Posted by NewbieLifer

If you are looking for just photos and not graphics, one option for using photos on your site is to create a pinterest board, then pin the photo you want to use. Then use the pinterest widget to display that one photo on your website. (that gives proper credit to whichever website you pinned it from).

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XanBarksdale

10 years ago

Here is a good general rule to follow: If you own it, you can use it!

If you own it because you took it, you can use it (a few exceptions apply).

If you own it because you bought it, you can use it.

If you didn't pay for it, or didn't take it, there is a good chance that you can't legally use it.

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Rok Solid

10 years ago

You definitely don't want to be stealing people's pics. But if you don't have any photography skills of your own then you can either buy them from a stock photo site like iStockPhoto.com or use public domain pics on sites like Pixabay.com or Wiki Media Commons.

Just make sure the images you want to use are listed as being in the Public Domain

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BradVert2013

10 years ago

And how to know if a picture is copyrighted?

As soon as a picture is taken, the picture is copyrighted to the person who took the picture.

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Steve B

10 years ago

You need to be very careful, even if you took the photos yourself.

Originally Posted by XanBarksdale

Here is a good general rule to follow: If you own it, you can use it!

Originally Posted by BradVert2013

As soon as a picture is taken, the picture is copyrighted to the person who took the picture.

You would think if you took photos that there would be no problem.

What if the photo you took contained the image of another person? Did you get their permission to use their picture in your photo?

What if the photo you took contained someone else's trademark or tradename within the photo? Did you get their permission to display their protected property?

Sure, you may say that I'm just splitting hairs and no one will ever complain if you use your own pictures.

When potentially big dollars are involved and/or you tread on people's rights, well, no sin is insignificant!

The best to all of you,

Steve

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BradVert2013

10 years ago

Originally Posted by Steve B

You need to be very careful, even if you took the photos yourself.

You would think if you took photos that there would be no problem.

What if the photo you took contained the image of another person? Did you get their permission to use their picture in your photo?

What if the photo you took contained someone else's trademark or tradename within the photo? Did you get their permission to display their protected property?

Sure, you may say that I'm just splitting hairs and no one will ever complain if you use your own pictures.

When potentially big dollars are involved and/or you tread on people's rights, well, no sin is insignificant!

The best to all of you,

Steve

You make a great point. If people are in the photo, then you must have their permission (in writing) to use it commercially, and include appropriate compensation. A model recently sued a company for using her picture without compensating her.

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Hannah Gardner

10 years ago

What about pictures on a public domain? To whom I ask for permission?

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Steve B 10 years ago

Originally Posted by Hannah Gardner

What about pictures on a public domain? To whom I ask for permission?

Hannah,

If the image truly is in the public domain, you don't need anyone's permission to use it. The problem is, most people don't really know what constitutes the public domain. Many folks think that if an image is displayed online by Google, Flickr, or other image sharing sites it is fair game . . . which is simply not the case.

Steve
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LilBlackDress

10 years ago

Originally Posted by nileez

Hi everybody,

I'm new to internet marketing and wanted to gain some experience first by creating my own website. I have already found a nice niche etc.

Anyway, my website is going to need a lot of pictures, and since I heard that some pictures are copyrighted and can cost you a lot of money if you use them without permission on your website, I'm kind of worried about this.

I see loads of sites that contain many pictures (like blogs about clothing, sites about cars etc.), do they pay for their pictures? Or do they simply take their pictures from google or tumblr or something like that? And how to know if a picture is copyrighted?

You should buy rights to the photos you use. You never know where someone who has posted on a free site got the picture. Not worth it.

I would suggest rethinking your theme. I have a beautiful website that requires lots of pictures and I have spent thousands of dollars on photos (not to mention time to find just the right photo). On the other hand I have another very clean website that takes minimal photos thus costing me very little. Both websites have been very profitable. You don't have to have a ton of photos to do well.

Another option is to consider using one photo as sort of the avatar and reusing it over and over.

Either way think hard about a theme that sucks your money in photos.

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How to know if you are allowed to use a certain picture on your website?

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