By Susan L. Spann 

A baby polar bear cuddles in his mother’s paws.  Glaciers calve into the icy sea with a mighty crash of spray.  Racecars speed down the track, their images dramatically blurred by the camera’s shutter. 

These photographs, and many more, grace the ‘pages’ of the Internet, turning the electronic world into a kaleidoscope of fantastic images.  Through the magic of technology, many of these photos can be cut and pasted with the click of a mouse – a click which all too often proves as illegal as it was easy. 

Copyright law applies to images and artwork as well as words.  Just as the law prohibits you from taking someone else’s article and reprinting it without permission, displaying someone else’s photograph or artwork on your website, blog or Internet space without a proper license constitutes illegal copyright infringement.  It doesn’t matter whether a copyright notice appears on the website displaying the image, or whether the image is “watermarked” to prevent copying.  Copyright attaches to photographs and artwork at the moment of creation, and reproduction or use without proper authorization or “license” is against the law. 

“But the Internet is so big.  They’ll never catch me.  Besides, how much trouble can one little photograph cause?”  The answer: a lot.  Copyright infringement carries potential penalties and fines that can cost infringers thousands of dollars or more – regardless of the nature of the infringing use.  Intent isn’t an element of the law, so “I didn’t know” doesn’t provide a defense.  The only questions are: “Did you display the artwork,” and “Did you have a license or other legal right to do so.”  If the first answer is “yes” and the second one “no,” you’re liable, whether or not you intended to commit a crime. 

As far as “getting caught” – it happens far more often than you might think.  Large companies often employ professional searchers who scan the Internet looking for violating uses.  Independent photographers and artists perform their own searches or hire companies that contract use of their images and monitor compliance across the World Wide Web.  Don’t make the mistake of believing, “I’m too small to get caught.”  That kind of thinking violates both Biblical and Copyright law – neither of which takes kindly to deliberate transgression. 

How do you stay safe?  Follow the same rules you use when dealing with printed materials, but keeping in mind that there is no “excerpt” when it comes to photographs and other art.  When you use the image, you use the entire work.  

Before pasting an image onto your website or blog, make sure you have the legal right to display it.  Did you find the image on a website containing an “open source” or “public domain” license that specifically permits your desired use?  Remember to accept licenses from the copyright holder or image owner only.  If you’re not positive the permission is good, send the webmaster or page owner an e-mail to make sure.  If the website has no license terms, you can also contact the owner or copyright holder and ask for permission to display the image.  Unless the owner makes a living by licensing images, he or she may gladly consent to your use.  Remember to be polite, no matter what answer you receive. 

At the end of the day, no permission means no display.  If you can’t obtain a license for your intended use, then you can’t use the image.  Without permission, publication is violation, and no image is worth painting yourself into a legal corner.

Posted in HSB News, 0 comments, Link
Leave a Comment