Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

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Kristin Potenti
www.selfassuredwomen.com
kpotenti@selfassuredwomen.com

Photos from other websites or print publications are the intellectual property of the original author. It is never okay to use them, even if you cite the source, without getting permission.

To use photos on your own site, you`ll need to either take them yourself, use stock photography, use photos that are licensed through the creative commons, are in the public domain, or get written permission from the owner of the website whose photography you want to use.

—paula

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Kristin Potenti
www.selfassuredwomen.com
kpotenti@selfassuredwomen.com

Ah okay... Creative Commons is a new type of copyright license that the creator of an artistic work can choose to use instead of hte standard copyright. It essentially gives standing permission for other people to use the photos, music, text, or whatever it is, but often will have some stipulation such as "for noncommercial use only" or "attribution required."

The Creative Commons website is here: http://creativecommons.org/

Public domain images are either so old that the copyright has run out, or have been specifically released into the public domain by the author. "Public domain" means the work belongs to the general public and you can it however you like without restriction.

My favorite source for public domain images is Wikimedia Commons. But if you use images from here, be sure to check the copyright... not all their images are public domain. Some are creative commons.

Stock photography is also a very popular option. My favorite source for stock photography is Veer.com but there are lots of others... just do a search for "stock photography" and you`ll be inundated with resources.

—paula

Isn`t there any way you can take the photos yourself, or have someone you know who`s good at photography do so? More often than not, you can then be very specific and sort of "target" your images to go along with the site, right?

Ah...I took a look at your site---a fashion line. That`s more complex, being that fashion photography is such a huge business. Hmm...if you don`t at all know anyone into fashion photography, I`d be surprised. Even so, you might consider looking around for a school of some sort, or even advertising on something like Craig`s List.

You likely will find a lot of young photographers trying to break in to the fashion industry, and they`d work out a deal with you. Aside from specific pictures you would use to specifically work on your site, you`d be able to directly contract with the photographers and talk about ownership.

What I`m thinking is that you also have a "showcase," see? It`s not only that you have a Web site where you`re going to sell particular clothing. It`s that you *also* have a site that shows off the photography. You could barter with the photographers----you show their work, they cite you in their portfolios as a client. It`d be a win-win for everyone, I`m thinking.

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Kristin Potenti
www.selfassuredwomen.com
kpotenti@selfassuredwomen.com

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Kristin Potenti
www.selfassuredwomen.com
kpotenti@selfassuredwomen.com

Hi,

I have been wanting someone to explain the legal reason why Google & other search engines can gather all images on the web and post them in Google Images:.

Can someone explain this in legal terms?

Jeff

It`s a highly contentious area of the law.  In 2006, a federal court in Philadelphia ruled that Google`s archiving of Usenet posts does not constitute copyright infringement, even if the posts themselves contain infringing material.  Another federal district court in Nevada has ruled that Google`s caching constitutes "fair use" under copyright laws.  This latter case determined that:

• Serving a webpage from the Google Cache does not constitute direct infringement, because it results from automated, non-volitional activity by Google servers;
• Failure to set a "no archive" metatag indicated that the website owner impliedly licensed search engines to archive the web page;
• The Google Cache is a fair use; and
• The Google Cache qualifies for the DMCA`s 512(b) caching "safe harbor" for online service providers.

My belief is that other courts will continue to follow suit.



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Pepper Law Group, LLC
21 E. High Street, Suite D
Somerville, NJ 08876
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The Legal Considerations of Starting an Online Business

Please don`t ask the photographers to work for `credit` or `exposure` (aka no money!)

That`s a common Craigslist tactic, and no one (but the cheap person who feels entitled to free work) likes it.

Do YOU work for free?