Photography Copyright Law Research - using images on blogs

The $8,000 Mistake That All Bloggers Should Beware

While researching photography copyright law infringement cases, I found this article on The Content Factory by Kari DePhillips that everyone with a blog or website should read.  Ms. DePhillips explains how The Content Factory was sued over a single copyrighted image that had been posted on one of their client's blogs.  The writer that posted it didn't notice the image had been copyrighted and the editors also missed that it was as well.  It wasn't even a famous image or from a known photographer but this mistake ended up costing them $3,000 (they were originally sued for $8,000).  Please click on the link above to read the entire article.  Ms. DePhillips gives helpful advice by outlining that under the Fair Use Copyright laws you are financially responsible for posting copyrighted images even if you:

- did it by accident
- immediately take it down after receiving a takedown notice
- resized the image
- linked back to the photo source and cite the photographer's name
- have a site that isn't commercial and you make no money from your blog
- have a disclaimer for your site
- embedded the image instead of saving it to your server
- found it on the internet

Bottom line and moral to the story......Do Not Ever use copyrighted images for any reason unless you have paid for the rights to use them (purchasing a single image does not mean you own the rights to reproduce it).  When it comes to using images it is your responsibility to know the copyright laws, ignorance will not save you when it comes to being sued.

Things to remember about copyright:

• Copyright is a property right. 
• Just because you buy a print does not mean you have purchased the copyright.
• Professional photographers are the smallest of small copyright holders. 
• Under the Federal Copyright Act of 1976, photographs are protected by copyright from the moment of creation.
• Photographers have the exclusive right to reproduce their photographs (right to control the making of copies). 
• Unless you have permission from the photographer, you can’t copy, distribute (no scanning and sending them to others), publicly display (no putting them online), or create derivative works from photographs. 
• A photographer can easily create over 20,000 separate pieces of intellectual property annually.
• Professional photographers are dependent on their ability to control the reproduction of the photographs they create. 
• It affects their income and the livelihood of their families. 
• Even small levels of infringement—copying a photo without permission—can have a devastating impact on a photographer’s ability to make a living.
• Copyright infringements—reproducing photos without permission—can result in civil and criminal penalties

http://www.ppa.com/content.cfm?ItemNumber=1720