I have a question about using copyrighted images

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   NotPCposted 11 years ago

   HubPages is very firm in their rule to only use photos for which you have permission to use. Hypothetically, what happens if you break this rule? I've seen many people using images that are clearly not theirs to use and I was just wondering if this affects them in any way...

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      Uninvited Writerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      The copyright holder can sue you if you use their work without permission.

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         wildernessposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Yes, and I've filed at least one DMCA for illegal use of MY photo.  Let HP get a few of those and I'd think your account would be closed.

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      Marisa Wrightposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Hypothetically, probably nothing.   I don't think there is any automated filter to catch copyrighted photos, so it would only get picked up if your Hub was flagged for something else, or if a sharp-eyed reader or MTurk rater noticed it.
      
      For me, it comes down to a question of integrity.   I think it would be the height of hypocrisy for me to get angry when someone steals one of my  copyrighted articles, if I'm merrily stealing photographers' copyrighted photos.   Photographers are creative people trying to make a living, exactly like us, so we should respect each other's work.
      
      I also don't buy the argument "but everyone else is doing it".  That's like saying, "I see other people littering, therefore I'm going to start throwing all my garbage in the street."

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      dup247posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      This is very dangerous as you will lose money if someone sue you

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      Rod Marsdenposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I only use the images I have personally created whether photographs or own art. I'm not taking any chances.

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      sharingknowledgeposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Just asking. How do you know that the photo or image id copyrighted? Any mark on them or ? Thanks.

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         psycheskinnerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         You assume is is copyrighted unless you have convincing evidence that it is not.

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         Marisa Wrightposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Sometimes you will see the small "c" copyright notice on a photo, but it's not necessary because the copyright law for photos is very simple.
         
         ALL photos and images are copyrighted unless there is a statement on the page saying it's not.

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            sharingknowledgeposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            So it means that no one is allowed to use a single image found on the internet like Google images?

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               SmartAndFunposted 11 years agoin reply to this

               Think of each photo out there on the web as if it were one of your HubPages articles. Just because your articles are put up on HubPages doesn't mean that anyone who wants to can copy-paste them and use them wherever they want. In fact, when this does happen, we as writers get annoyed, aggravated and often furious that people are stealing our work. If the content thief gave you credit for the article, but did not ask your permission or pay you for the use of your words, you would still be angry, correct? Someone stole your work and is profiting from it.
               
               Photographers and artists go through the same thing when someone uses their pictures without paying or without permission. Just because you tell the world it is their work does not mean you are in the clear. You must either pay for the right to use it or ask for the photographer's or artist's permission. Just because it shows up on Google doesn't mean it is free. Your articles show up on Google, right? Does that mean they are free for people to copy and steal? It is all the worse IMHO to use stolen photos on HubPages or some other monetized site or blog because you are profiting off of someone else's work.
               
               Marisa has written a great article detailing exactly how to find photos on Flickr that you can legally use for free. Here is a link to her article:
               http://marisawright.hubpages.com/hub/Ho … -Your-Hubs
               
               When you try it the first time or two it may seem like you are jumping through too many hoops, but once you've done it a few times it is easy as pie.

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                  Marisa Wrightposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                  Very well explained, SmartandFun, and thanks for the link!

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               lisavollrathposted 10 years agoin reply to this

               Think of Google images like Google search. Would you search for an article, find one you liked, copy it, and post it? No, because we all know that's plagiarism.
               
               If you wouldn't do it with text, don't do it with images. Look for images that are clearly listed as allowed for commercial reuse. Don't be that guy who steals other people's original work without permission!

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      Frederick Greenposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      There's also a great way (I don't think anyone has mentioned this yet). You can filter your searches on Google Images so only images you may reuse comes up. All the copyrighted images are cut out. No special skills required.
      
      https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/29508?hl=en
      
      There's a visual guide to show you how to perform this action.

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         Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Just be careful, because Google doesn't always get it right.  You still have to go to the original website and check to see what the licence is.   Often you'll find the image is copyright after all.  In particular, that search brings up a lot of images from DeviantArt which is copyright.

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   psycheskinnerposted 11 years ago

   If some random person flags it the hub gets unpublished.
   If the copyright holder sends Hubpages staff a take down notice they probably don't enjoy that.

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   NotPCposted 11 years ago

   Ya that's what I figured. Thanks for the speedy replies!

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   TheDatingMomposted 11 years ago

   Not everything is black and white.  There are rules to follow in the HP learning center and rules should be followed.  However, when I first posted pics on HP, I did it wrong.  No one banned me.  The images were NOT okay for use but I was clueless and didn't know it. HP WAS aware of it.  I was very nicely informed how to find pictures that ARE okay for use and I was also told how to attribute them correctly.  As soon as I knew what I was doing wrong, I never did it again.  I was never unpublished (I had at least 5 hubs with pics that were no-nos) but I did go one-by-one and looked for pics that were not allowed and replaced them and learned to attribute them the right way.  It took a couple of days to learn how because I'm a little on the old side so it wasn't obvious to me but I did learn how.  No harm, no foul.  Made a mistake, fixed it.  Time to carry on.  I'm glad people were nice to me about it.

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      sharingknowledgeposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      This is cool. I must check the Hub and see what it entails. Thanks you.

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   xionnguyenposted 11 years ago

   As long as you asked the person and give credit to him/her then it should be okay if they let you use it. Otherwise its illegal.

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   Simone Smithposted 11 years ago

   A part of me dies every single time a Hubber violate's another person's copyright.
   
   Every. Single. Time.
   
   There's... *cough* not much *cough cough* of me left....

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      Paul Maplesdenposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      What you need is 'Reuben Dashe's Patented Originality and Attribution Tincture' Abso-lute-ly one hundered percent gua-ran-teed to perform the miracles of original research, fair use and credit where credit is surely due!
      
      Try it today.

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   MelissaBarrettposted 11 years ago

   I don't use the attribution box very often because I think it's ugly.  I generally put a line in there somewhere... usually at the end... where I thank the people I used the photo from.
   
   I have never not found a public domain or "free-use" photo when I have needed one.  To me it just shows laziness to not spend an extra 2 minutes looking for a legal photo.

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      Paul Maplesdenposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I agree - There are plenty of free sites that you can get photos from (I use FreeDigitalPhotos.net) - It might take a bit of searching, but it's always better to use with permission.
      
      Of course, for those feeling creative, you can create graphics yourselves as well.

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      aa liteposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I suspect that a lot of people violate copyright without meaning to (although I am sure some people know what they are doing, just reckon they will never get caught).
      
        Perhaps HP could make it more obvious by attaching a little warning box in the hub tool every time the image capsule was opened, asking the hubber whether they have a right to the photo with a link to the learning centre bit about proper attribution.  It might look ugly, but if it was informational (no boxes you had to click every time you uploaded a photo), I don't think people wouldn't mind so much.

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         NotPCposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         The hubtool absolutely warns you not to publish copyrighted pictures when you upload a new picture.

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            aa liteposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            If it does, it's not very effective, or perhaps I suffer from selective blindness.  i've just started a new hub (see what you made me do!) to check this out, and I'm still not seeing it.  It might be that I've used it so often that I go on auto-pilot when using the hub tool, and don't really see what's in front of me.
            
            What I was thinking that there would be a big reminder (preferably in red) every time you tried another image, with a link to the explanation about proper attribution etc., I can't see it in the image below.
            
            Probably would be more effective if you had to tick a box saying that your image was being used legally, but it might make adding images cumbersome, and people would whine.
            
            

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               NotPCposted 11 years agoin reply to this

               I guess it only warns you when you are importing a picture directly from another website. They must assume that you own the picture if you are uploading it from your computer. Flawed reasoning of course! I guess we were both right!
               
               

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                  aa liteposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                  Ahh ok, that's why I don't see it, I always download pictures first, then upload them (sometimes I like to crop them etc.).  I don't know if many people do what I do, but it makes sense to put the warning on all the options.

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                     NotPCposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                     Agreed.

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         MelissaBarrettposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Not a bad idea.

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            Jean Bakulaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            A little warning box may help. I try to list the URL's and sources, but have trouble. I also didn't know what to do when I used pictures that I took myself. I said something like "author's personal photo" or something like that. I have also seen a lot of pictures I took in Jamaica used all over the place, one that I especially liked, and have added my name to it, but taken down most that have any family members in them. That does seem like an invasion of privacy.

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      Howard S.posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      @Melissa: There shouldn't be anything ugly about attribution if used correctly. My guess is that you haven't filled in both "source" and "url" boxes. It looks different if you do that. See my hub about advanced photo capsule techniques if this much isn't clear.
      
      If attribution isn't closely associated with each photo, it is too easily missed by others looking for free-use photos.
      
      Public domain and free-use photos still require--or at least deserve--attribution. You just don't have to ask about permission.

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         MelissaBarrettposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         1. Yes I have filled in both boxes before, it still looks ugly to me. I generally attribute screen shots-when applicable- and it really does not look attractive at all.  It REALLY looks ugly if you want to caption as well.
         
         2. Most of my images are free use anyway.
         
         3. I am attributing them, just not right beside the pictures.  Most of mine come from a site that specifically says they don't require attribution.
         
         4. Most of my images come from a common site.  It is not one of those neat "trusted sites" so if I properly attributed each photo in capsule using both boxes, I would get dinged for overly-promotional.

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         Marisa Wrightposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         I'm not sure that matters.  After all, if there is a photo with no attribution, that means it's copyright and cannot be used.

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   mary615posted 11 years ago

   While we are talking about photos......how come we can't use images and photos from Google???  I read a Hub recently about "my Granda's garden".  She listed all the flowers in the garden and had used a photo for each flower.  There were about 10 of these beautiful photos.  No attribution or any note about the photos.  If I had been hopping Hubs, I would have flagged the Hub.  I just didn't have the heart to flag the Hub!

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      aa liteposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      The reason we can't use photos from Google is because G images just returns photos on the web tagged with the query.  There is absolutely no guarantee that the images are not covered by copyright, any image on a website is copyrighted unless it specifically says it isn't. 
      
      Just because images on hubs don't have an attribution doesn't mean they are illegal.  I used to not attribute my own photos.  It is possible that the photos in the flower hub you saw where taken by the hubber, in which case they were hers.  Also you don't legally have to attribute public domain images, although it is polite to do so.  So I don't think we should be flagging hubs with unattributed photos, unless you know for a fact that the image is copied from another website.

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         Sally's Troveposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Another important point here about attributing images or not: I suspect some hubs include an attribution of a copyrighted image (with or without a source url) without having received permission from the owner. In other words, attributing without permission is not enough.

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         mary615posted 11 years agoin reply to this

         I agree.  I would never flag a Hub because photos were not attributed.

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            psycheskinnerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            I do flag whenever I *know* the pic is not used legally, especially when it is my photo.  I image search for my best selling photos and request takedowns from anyone who used them without paying the usage fee.

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      psycheskinnerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      For the same reason you can't use text from Google. Unless you think that by writing a hub you are permitting everyone to take and use your article for free?

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   Educateurselfposted 11 years ago

   Well i think it is not dangerous because you are using there url to post the picture and if you write the source name of the picture than definetely you are not in the circle of copyright.Because i personally think if there is a problem of copyright than why hubpages give us this option.

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      aa liteposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Not at all true, as Sally's Trove has pointed out, attributing the source of a copyrighted picture is not enough, you are still using the picture illegally unless it is public domain or creative commons (in the second case you often need to say what the licence is to be legal). 
      
      HubPages gave us the option so that we can use it on public domain/CC images not on just any image out there.

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    Educateurselfposted 11 years ago

    You are right aa lite i agree with you but if you give the url of the owner of the photo and mentioned it that this image is not mine and there is a url of the owner of picture than i think it will help us.

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       wildernessposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       I just finished filing over two dozen DMCA's for copied material, some of which gave a link back to my original.  It doesn't matter whether it is text or photos, it is still theft to copy and publish material that is not yours.
       
       It is illegal and unethical to copy work without express permission unless it is in the public domain.  A url back to the owner is NOT permission; whether it is there or not it is still theft, and I have in the past issued a take down request for copied photos with or without a url.

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    Hideki-ryugaposted 11 years ago

    Some users will just use public domain images. They are not theirs but these images lost their copyrights. Once an image is placed in the public domain, it becomes free for personal and/or commercial use.

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    Mark Ewbieposted 11 years ago

    I find a subtle watermark is good for dissuading the copiers...
    

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    Arco Hess Designsposted 10 years ago

    There are very specific reasons why you might be able to copyrighted material. However, most people will never get to that point. Look for "free use" images, public domain, commons, etc. you can generally use those as long as you follow the guidelines.

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