Copying Images on the Internet is Illegal
General Announcements, bay-area-website-design Add commentsEveryone has done it. Its much too easy nowadays to copy any images off internet websites. Most people do it without permission from the website owner or stock photo company. If your thinking about doing it, think again.
Having been a victim of others copying my work, my design, and words– I understand the feelings and violation of one’s original work being given credit by someone else. It is distasteful and makes me angry. But what can really be done about it? The internet is so vast and wide that does someone actually go around and police the text or images and control what is being plagerized or downloaded illegally?
Even in doing my research for this post, I performed a search on google for “copying images on the internet”, all results displayed me how to accomplish this and none really spoke about NOT doing it which prompted this post. This post is not about the specific laws for copyrighting or the robbery prevelent on the web. It is about real life experience and ethics.
It is better to heir on caution and not copy anything from the internet unless it specifically indicates its okay to do so or if they give terms asking you to create a link back to the image owner’s site. You also want to make sure you take a snapshot of that website that indicates permission for you to download or copy images. You never know if there policy may change in a few years and you don’t want to get in a situation that leaves you without documentation of their approval.
There are a large number of stock photo companies on the web today. These companies have their terms of usage agreement on the website however, if your like me– its often difficult to understand the legal jargon that is indicated on these long contracts. I have known several people who have been fined a large some of money for copying images from these large stock photo companies.
In case your not familiar with why these stock companies allow you to register and then download images which have their watermark on the corner of the photo, its mainly to be used for “comping” purposes only. “Comping” refers to the process of drafting a design and using the image with the hope of purchasing that image when its distributed publicly.
In speaking with one stock photo company in particular, I was informed that they have software to comb the internet a section at a time to find violators of their usage terms. If you have a website that is indexed by Google, it is considered to be a live website to the stock photo company. So if you have unlicensed photos on that website, you are open to being fined and are in violation of their terms.They come up with a list of violators regularly who use their images for websites and print illegally. This is the sophistication of software and internet technology that we are in and continue to head towards. Once you get a letter from these company’s legal department, you must produce written documentation on your license to use the images or pay the fine indicated in their demand letter. If you do not have a license, you need to pay the fine and remove the images within a certain timeframe.
The safest thing to do is purchase your images from a stock photo company. There are many inexpensive companies that offer reasonable rates per photo. I have found that www.dreamstime.com offers one of the best packages with the largest amount of variety. If you are unsure of the terms, contact the stock photo company and speak with a representative to make sure you are clear on how you are able to use the photos you purchase.
Another alternative is to take your own photos and use them on your website or print material. Of course, then you risk people copying YOUR images. Make sure you put a watermark or statement on your website regarding the copying of your images are NOT permissible or if you do allow copying, then state that as well.
Remember, that if you are unsure, don’t do it. It’s not worth the aggravasion and headache you later may face.
October 20th, 2008 at 2:58 am
Yup, as the internet grows, the easier it is to steal other people’s work. These micro stock companies are definately not a new thing. At least images are cheap and legal!
Dreamstime is awesome.But i personally use http://www.123rf.com
December 8th, 2008 at 10:02 pm
I wonder if taking a snap-shot of old photos, that have never even probably been held under any copyright law, is illegal. I don’t think all images are held under a copy right, i think some are just there for the public, they are not anything special. But when it comes to more serious stuff, you should always watch out and make sure everything is in order.
December 8th, 2008 at 10:17 pm
Yes, your right Josue not all images are under copyright law. There are photos on the web that are called “public domain” and are free to use. But of course, the website needs to state that you can use those images for whatever purpose you want.
The thing about taking snapshots of old photos is a tricky one. I would always heir on caution rather than risk getting slapped with a lawsuit. It’s definitely tempting but its best to walk away.
December 17th, 2008 at 11:53 am
It is not illegal to “download” pictures, it is illegal to reproduce those images as your own and sell them. I can put your images on my blog and say “See these pictures? aren’t they great? (Made by blah blah)” That is under the fair use (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_use) policies of many countries. Just my 2 cents, though.
February 27th, 2009 at 9:34 pm
csmith is completely wrong. It is illegal to put other’s images on a website or blog without their permission. Fair use is a very complicated matter and does not generally allow copying of works. It allows some use for educational, or parody, or one or two other matters but not copying generally.
If something is not in the public domain, it cannot be copied.
February 27th, 2009 at 9:39 pm
I agree that for the average person, the legalities of copyright laws are can be complicated. It is safer to heir on safe and always ask permission, unless specifically stated on the website that you MAY copy or if its noted as public domain. Thanks for making that point.
May 26th, 2009 at 12:02 pm
is it illegal to take a picture say of elvis and put it on your website
May 26th, 2009 at 12:12 pm
I think if the picture your taking of Elvis has a signature or is clearly been taken by someone, then yes–it would be illegal to place it on your website even though you’ve taken the picture.
I am not a copyright attorney so I am basing my comments on my own knowledge. Better to heir on caution.
June 17th, 2009 at 8:43 am
I must dissagree. When it comes right down to it, like with any book you publish, you must COPYRIGHT your work in order to claim any sort of ownership to it. Same goes for the internet. ANYONE can claim that THEY are ones that took that photo or designed that image. Unless you register the image or photo as YOURS you have absolutely NO rights to it. Some RESPONSABILITY must be taken by those posting these unprotected images and photos on the internet. It\’s kind of like me taking picture of a tree and. Then I post it on some public bulletin board in a coffee shop somewhere. Then months later it ends up on the cover of someones book on the best sellers list. Do I then have rights to that photo???? NO!!!!! I would not be able to PROVE that the image was taken by me…either would I be able to claim any rights to it. SAME THING ON THE INTERNET!!!
June 17th, 2009 at 8:50 am
Excellent point ownmine. Let’s look at the recent U.S. family who was on the front page of Yahoo last week. This family’s Christmas photo ended up posted for some ad in Europe! A friend of the family happened to be vacationing in Europe and saw their photo large and posted in front of a commercial business for some ad! I think the family said they had posted their photo on the internet and look where it ended up!
August 23rd, 2009 at 11:31 am
As I have written a number of songs, I can assure you, unless you either file a poorboy’s copy wright it’s open season. A copy write cost $33.00, and you can bundle.
August 26th, 2009 at 8:00 am
What can you do about someone copy and pasting your image from a website and putting them on their blog without your knowledge or permission? This has happened and the blog is pornographic. Help!!
August 26th, 2009 at 10:31 am
Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do to actually stop this from happening. Anyone can copy and paste images from any website and put them wherever they want, case in point the family who was vacationing in Europe as I shared above. You take a few precautions and deter them like, placing a code to prevent the ‘right click’ copy from a website. Not 100% foolproof because they can still do a screen print and capture the image.
The bottom line is we can see it on the screen, it can be screen printed or copied. Placing a notice on your website such as “You are NOT allowed to copy any images from this website copyright” will make people aware you are aware of it, but again, it really won’t stop anyone if they really want the image.
You could email that blog and tell them to remove the photo which was taken from your website without permission. Or if its an image you purchased from a stock company, you could notify the stock company and inform them of an illegal usage of their photo and point them to that website. Often these photo stock companies have legal departments who send nasty letters to people who did not purchase images but are using them.
Hope this helps, thanks for stopping by.
September 14th, 2009 at 11:15 pm
is it illegal to use the images if u just use and element from the original?
September 14th, 2009 at 11:40 pm
Hey John d, thanks for dropping in.
I would say that yes, it is not wise to use any part of the image if it is from a stock company or website, unless you have permission to do so. I knew of someone who took images from a stock company and created a collage with various parts of different images. They got caught and paid a huge sum of money for EACH image they used even though it was only a small portion of the original image.
Don’t use it unless the image is in public domain.
October 22nd, 2009 at 11:14 am
can u take images from google and use tehm in a website?
October 22nd, 2009 at 11:18 am
Ah, that is a great question because so many people are doing this! Any images from Google generally have a little note on the bottom of them indicating that “this image may be copyrighted.”
As a general rule, I would say no, it is NOT OK to take images from Google images and use them unless the website states its OK to use them with a link back to them or that it IS OK to use them however you wish.
November 18th, 2009 at 11:41 am
Is there anywhere online where you can use free images? i work with squidoo alot, and i try to use alot of pictures for my lenses (webpages); and usually i get them from google images. but after reading this- especially your last comment- i am thinking that i should not do that. :/ however, if i dont do that, then im not really sure where else i could get images for my pages. what do you recommend?
November 18th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
Hello Brittany, thanks for stopping by. You can google download free images and see what comes up. There are some sites that will allow you to use their photos for the purposes of posting on a website, like Squidoo. http://www.dreamstime.com is a stock photo company that has a large selection of FREE IMAGES section you can use. Lastly, if you can take the picture yourself, that is even the best option.
November 22nd, 2009 at 7:52 pm
great! thanks! that helps alot
November 25th, 2009 at 10:04 am
Can you pls answer this asap? A friend of mine is in prison and I was thinking of sending him photos of hot girls from the internet? Is it illegal to print the pictures and give it to him? If it is legal then what are the websites I can use to get some pictures. Thanks.
November 25th, 2009 at 10:31 am
I believe some images on the web are OK to print for your own personal use as long as you do not sell or print multiple copies of them. But it will depend on the website and what they say in regards to this. If they have a terms of use, I would check that and see what their policy is or contact them via email and find out.
Some, allow you to repost a photo on a website or print as long as it references their website or company. They are all different so I cannot say yes or not to this question. The safest thing to do is just purchase the girl photos and print it for your use.
December 9th, 2009 at 8:17 am
Hi,
Perhaps one of you guys on here can help. My fiancée runs a small business selling Burlesque clothes. For fun I have started making some t-shirts in the Burlesque style, showing pin-up girls but also images using old Bettie Page pictures that I found on the internet. People really like them so we may sell some of them. To make sure that I do ‘the right thing’ I got in touch with a licensing company who controls a large number of Bettie Page images. For 500 dollars I can get access to 10 high resolution pictures to use on t-shirts for a limited time. If I look on other sites then I can find hundreds of images being used by companies on shirts, bags, lighters etc. I can not imagine that they are all licensed. Also, if an original picture is altered i.e. if only part of it is used and then embedded into a different back/foreground does copyright then still apply?
Sorry for all the questions but I’m new to all this and can’t afford to pay for something that by law I don’t really need.
I’d really appreciate some feedback. Thanks.
Koen (the Netherlands)
December 9th, 2009 at 4:37 pm
I recently sold some real estate in Alaska that I ran as a fishing lodge for 5 years. The real estate was sold as a family home and not a fishing lodge. The new owners decided they were going to run it as a fishing lodge and made their own name but copied my old website word for word and took all of my pics of my clients and my family off my website and put it on theirs. I have e-mailed them and asked them to remove all pics and write their own brochure but so far, (it has been 5 months) they have not answered my e-mails or changed their website. Anything I can do? I am very angry at them for stealing what took me years to put together. Photos of myself with my fish are on their website and it makes it seem like I am a client of theirs. These people are either really stupid or just have nerves of steal or maybe I just need a lawyer.
December 9th, 2009 at 4:54 pm
KOEN,
The 10 high res pics resource you mentioned should have a terms of use for their products you order. I can tell you that 10 hig res pics to use commercially seems like a steal which makes me suspicious. What do they mean “limited time?” Normally if you use images commercially, they allow you a certain run, or copies you can use them for. Who create these high res pics? Did this company recreate it? You need to do your homework before selling anything commercially. Are there any “public domain” images of Betty Page you can use? Those are safer since you can use them commercially.
Some photos state that the images may not be altered in any way, you should check that. If you find some public domain photos of her, changing the background should be ok. Of course, we are NOT attorneys so its always safe to see things in writing. Public domain means These materials are “public property”, and available for anyone to use freely for any purpose. Not sure if it covers modifications, it may depend on the type of modifications.
The internet has alot of things that are considered “stolen goods” and we may never know how those people got the images to use commercially, unless they used public domain photos of her. Just cover yourself and if they were used illegally by others, then eventually they will get caught by someone who holds the copyright.
Good luck. Just play it safe to protect yourself and your business. If your still unsure, seek advice from a copyright attorney.
December 9th, 2009 at 5:03 pm
MAMAC40,
I feel your pain. Its infuriating when others take credit for your work when it has been plagerized whether its stealing content from articles or photos you own.
Did your original website have a copyright notice on it? Generally at the bottom of websites it notes something like “© 2009 Creative Media Web”, if so you indicate that the stuff thats on your site is yours and NO one should be taking it without your prior permission.
Go to their website and do a screen shot of every page they copied from your original website so you can have documentation they stole your content. Also do you have your original website so you can compare what they STOLE from you? if so, you at least have some proof, these people have violated and plagerized your entire site.
Sometimes, you can contact their hosting company and if you can prove it is your information, you can have the hosting company shut down the website. Which is what I would try first. Different hosting companies may vary in how they approach this type of issue though. To find their hosting company, go here: http://who.godaddy.com/whoischeck.aspx?ci=8926
Enter their website and see who they are registered with.
I would then find a copyright attorney, be it friend or not, and have them write a nasty letter to the new owners.
I think they are just stupid.
December 9th, 2009 at 5:24 pm
I have a question that I haven\’t been able to find the answer to either! Is it illegal to foward pictures/ an email that were emailed to you? These photos were sent from the person who owned them. Thanks so much!
December 9th, 2009 at 5:43 pm
Hi Lacey,
I think its fine as long as you ask permission from the person who sent them to you and let them know you are forwarding it to share.
December 9th, 2009 at 5:59 pm
Thanks for your response. I will take your advice on this. I agree that I think they are just stupid and as the saying goes, you can’t fix stupid, but maybe a nasty letter will help to smarten them up. I just can’t imagine doing this to anyone and it makes me so mad! Thanks again for the advice.
January 3rd, 2010 at 12:38 pm
Hi,
Thanks for your advice. It’s actually a company called CMG which is one of the biggest licensing companies in the world. I will however also check out any public domain images. Thanks again for taking the time to answer my question. Koen.
February 20th, 2010 at 2:03 am
\"I must dissagree. When it comes right down to it, like with any book you publish, you must COPYRIGHT your work in order to claim any sort of ownership to it.\"
Not true. The moment you create something, it\’s copyrighted. It may be hard to prove it\’s yours, but law states that it is. I can draw a mouse in paint. It would be instantly copyrighted.