I have a site that is just pictures of beautiful women that I pull from many different sites around the net. As long as I have some contact info where people can request I take down a pic or entire post, will I get in any legal trouble with this site? I also try to give photo credits with a link if I pull from a website, but other pics I just got from random places a long time ago so I have no idea what site they came from. And I run Adsense on the site if it matters. Also, if someone could point me twords a good disclaimer for this type of site, I'd appriciate it.
Hey, I think legally you should be covered if: 1 - you are not aware that the material posted was copyrighted at the time that you posted it 2 - you provide a way to contact you for removal of copyrighted content 3 - you respond to these requests in a timely manner (i think this means within a week) But, I'm not a legal expert, so take this advice with a grain of salt.
Ignorance is no excuse or reprieve of liability from the law. Other than that, your other advice was good.
Yeah, "I didn't know" doesn't really fly when it comes to legal stuff. Any ideas on coming up with a good disclaimer that would cover me legally?
The 3 points above might fly if you post user-generated content but not if you post the content. If you post a Getty photo they will come after you for $x,xxx despite a disclaimer & claims of innocence. (search Google for Getty copyright) I am not a lawyer, just some guy on a forum.
Here's one: Don't post something that a. doesn't belong to you or b. you do not have expressed consent to use.
You don't own the pictures or have express permission to use them. You therefore cannot legally use them, period. Offering to take down the image will not get around infringement. Adsense can terminate you account and not pay you because you are displaying copyrighted material (images have an automatic copyright). The owner of the images could sue you.
Providing a link or credit does not serve as ok by copyright law. You must have express written permission to use them. Your looking at loosing any and all revenue, plus potential losses by the victim of your infringement should you get sued. Some of us are willing to loose a little money to protect our intellectual property, even if it means we spend more on legal fees than we get back. A disclaimer will not protect you. Just like a Terms of Service will not protect you if it violates the law. Common misconception. But, your little disclaimer does not override the law. Some services, such as web site hosting services, are immune from suit in a copyright infringement case. Unless they receive notice of the copyrighted content with proof of said content being owned by the complaintant, or the person the complaintant is legally recognizing (such as a hired lawyer). All creative work, from music to photographs to photoshop created images (not using another image first) are automatically protected under copyright laws from the moment of creation, do not require a notification (except work created before...1976 I believe). visit www.copyright.gov for more info.
Ok, I hear you guys. So how is it then that there are tons of sites out there filled exclusively with nothing but celebrity pics and other (clothed) pics of women? Do they all get permission for the pics they post? Or are they all based in a country where they cannot be sued? I do know that there is something called "public domain" and very famous people fall into this catagory. You can snap photos all you want of Brad Pitt or someone equally famous and you can publish them legally. Where the line is drawn I don't know. Can someone fill in the blanks?
There are sites that pay to use the photos and there are sites that illegally use them. You can be sued, and in the US, infringement can actually be a criminal charge - people have gone to prison in extreme cases. "public domain" has nothing to with famous people (public figures) - but the key is "you" can take pictures, but that doesn't mean you can use photos you didn't take or obtain permission to use. The "drawn line" is pretty easy to understand - you didn't take the pictures, you can't use them without permission. "fair use" (like if you are using them for certain types of school projects) can sometimes be used (many people are sued for "fair use" usage) - but the point is moot if your sites is commercial (takes in ANY revenue from adsense, advertising, donations, memberships, etc).
Ok, thanks for clarifying. Last question then. Can I take pics from, say Flickr's Creative Commons (not the non-commercial ones) and put them into my site, give credit where credit is due and then run adsense without breaking any rules?
Look at their Terms of Service for one. Also look, some pictures are allowed to be used, it will be in the license. Read the license. It DOES NOT matter how much credit or links you give, it is still copyright infringement. Look at it this way, just because someone copied a script you've been working on and turns around and puts it up somewhere and makes money from that site, but, hey, they gave you a link, you won't be happy about it will you? You will still try to go after them. Some people, like me, will persue all copyright violations we come across, no matter how much we may loose in the effort. But, then again, if you look at my blog, I also allow usage of some of my things. It will be under legal there. I allow usage of my content so long as certain conditions are met. But with other things, such as the logo for the blog, not so much.
I think you should not bother unless ur website is very big and you scrapping great deal of stuff from particluar website... And don't ever watermark their photos with your logo. As fillling a case requires hassles and quiet a lot of money no one would go after a legal battle.But you should maintain your limits...they may file a complaint to Google under webmaster tools and they might remove you from search...
You answered your own question. YOU can snap and post all you want to. YOU can't use what SOMEONE ELSE snapped and posted as your own. Get it? If the picture did not come from your camera, taken by your own two little hands, or if you do not have the permission to use a picture that came out of someone else's camera taken by their own two little hands, YOU CANNOT USE IT.
As hostlonestar points out, read the license. If the license says that you can use it for any purpose, including commercial use, with attribution, then there is your answer. You are not violating the copyright because the owner of the copyright has given you (and everyone else) a license to repost the photo provided that you attribute the picture in the manner specified. That assumes, of course, that the person who posted the photo on Flickr was in fact the owner. While that is probably the case with the vast majority of images on Flickr, if someone posted a photo which they do not own, then they have no right to license it. I suspect that is rare in the case of Flickr based on the typical type of user, but it is something to keep in mind.
Datacenter's will force you to remove the content. Google will remove it and ban it from their index. Nothing bad right? You think people won't protect their intellectual property? Do you have any idea how many people have the ability and resources, and the drive to aggressively protect their property? Do you want to gamble with chance?
What is your pre occupation with using other peoples stuff? Just do what the rest of do...either buy them, create them, or ask for permission. Why would you start a photo website, if you didn't have any photos, or a source to get them? That's funny.
You could just host them in a country that doesn't care about copyright law and you should be fine. If you are contacted and asked to remove things by the copyright owner then be respectful and remove them. No reason to make people overly angry when you can solve the problem cheaply and easily. Personally I don't copy other people's work, just because I am picky but I don't really have any problems with it. It is just the cost of doing business online.
Doesn't matter if the files are hosted in a country like that or not. You're still subject to the laws of the country you are from. If you are in the US, you'll be having a grand old time in court.