Internet Images & Photos Copyright Laws Created by: Emily Ross

What is copyright?  A federal law of the United States that protects a person’s original work(s)  Attaches as soon as the original work is created  An automatic right and does not require the author to file any type of special paperwork

Fair Use  Fair Use is a balance between protecting the creator and promoting the interests of the public.  Fair Use does not mean fair game! (Hawkins, 2011)  It allows for limited and reasonable uses only if the use does not interfere with the owners’ rights or wishes. Image: cjansuebsri / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

What about photographs?  Copyright laws are strong about permitting only a photographer control over the first time their photo or image is made public.  Are you a photographer showing off your own work online? No! Then chances are you will need to use photos taken by someone else that you find online. Your best bet is royalty free photo sites.

What about photographs?  Warning!!! If there is a copyright notice or identifying information and you try to crop it the penalty can be up to $25,000!  There are many resources for free images.  There is really no need to use copyright- protected works you find online.  If you find a photograph you really love and have to have, ask the owner first. Many people will gladly give you permission.

Royalty Free Image Sites  Google Images  morguefile.com  photos8.com  freedigitalphotos.net

Scenario 1:  You find a beautiful photograph of an elderly man you want to add to your website, but you found it on a large photography company’s website. Should You copy it onto your site?

No way!!  Large companies have lawyers and will not like the idea of you taking one of their personal photographs.  It’s not wroth it unless you ask first.

Scenario 2:  You were looking for a photograph of books to add to your presentation at school and go to Can you copy the books and paste them into your presentation without referring to where the photograph came from?

Go for it!!!  Those photographs are royalty free and the photographer or creator of the image added them to that site for public use. Attribution is not required.

Scenario 3:  You find your photograph online that a professional photographer has taken of you, but it is copyrighted and has the words “proof, copyrighted” on top of it. You really want the photograph to be posted on your website, so you scan the photo and put it in Photoshop to remove the word “proof”. Is this illegal even though it is a picture of you?

You bet it is NOT legal!  A professional took the photo and you do not have rights to it even though it is a photograph of you unless you pay for it or ask the photographer.

Work Cited  Hawkins, S. (2011, November 23). Copyright fair use and how it works for online images. Retrieved from opyright-fair-use-and-how-it-works-for- online-images/