Copyright issues!!

Discussion in 'Legal Issues' started by riikon, Oct 6, 2011.

  1. #1
    Hi!! .. I willing to start a site which will feature (with image) girls/women from various walks of life.. the problem is many of then are going to be celebrities .. in doing so i will be infringing copyrights of many sites like maxim , fhm , sports illustrated , playboy etc.. So i wanted to know if there is anyway i can use these images.. I will not be using the images directly to get a commercial benefit i.e sell the images.. but the site will be used commercially(earning money through advertisements)..
    I also dont have any problem in promoting the sites with there url on my pages.. can anyone tell me how to go about this .?.. how can i contact them?.. what is the legal procedure? ..etc
    And i wanted to know how many sites are using many copyrighted images from maxim or sport illustrated etc?.. i guess so many sites may not be infringing copyrights .. there must be some way around to use the images with prior written permission or otherwise .. if there is i also need help in knowing how to contact them ?.. i cudnt find anything on there sites...
    Eg:- chickipedia.com is a very big site with about 6000+ celebrity titles with there images and videos which are the copyright of sports illustrated and maxim etc.. its quiet popular too so its not possible how it is pulling it off .. its very popular to fly under the radar and not get caught .. I wanted to know they are doing it??.. what the procedure ...?
    Plz help me .. this question has been bothering me since last 4 days ..
    Thanks
     
    riikon, Oct 6, 2011 IP
  2. mjewel

    mjewel Prominent Member

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    #2
    If they aren't pictures you took, you need express permission to put them on a site that has advertising or is monetized in any way. The site you mentioned has a licensing agreement i.e. pays for rights to use images. Forget about what other sites are doing (and you don't know if they have paid for rights or not), if they don't have permission, they risk being sued or even prosecuted for infringement.
     
    mjewel, Oct 6, 2011 IP
  3. CarlBlogger

    CarlBlogger Well-Known Member

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    #3
    Simple answer to this.

    If you took the pictures, you're fine.
    If you didn't, you need permission to place them on your website.

    If you don't get permission, you risk get sued.
     
    CarlBlogger, Oct 7, 2011 IP
  4. riikon

    riikon Peon

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    #4
    kk .. thanks for the reply .. can you tell me how to find out who hold the copyright for a particular image and how to contact them?? .. an apporx. how much do i have to pay for the images?..
     
    riikon, Oct 7, 2011 IP
  5. cro91

    cro91 Peon

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    #5
    Both are things that are probably best left to google.

    Google has a new image search feature where you can drag a image into the search bar and it will find all images like it. The best bet is to look for a "Contact Us" or do a WhoIs on the domain name and ask one of these major websites (Maxim, Playboy) through email who you can get in talk with to use the pictures. If the pictures are not publicly avaliable (Just viewable on there site and not through a membership) then you may have a chance, if not and you need a membership to view them then I would say your chances are slim to getting them to let you use the image.
     
    cro91, Oct 7, 2011 IP
  6. stinker

    stinker Well-Known Member

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    #6
    I think possible risks to display copyrighted photos and refusing to remove them after copyright holder request to remove copyrighted photos from your site, are: Adsense ban, dissapear from search results, lose domain and hosting
    (have read some stories like this, and, surely, not a pleasure at all to receive this kind of punishment)
    But i think you need to do something really bad and maliciously or keep doing it continuously after warnings given to get sued or prosecuted.

    Hence I find it a bit over saturated the last sentence i quoted imho.
     
    Last edited: Oct 14, 2011
    stinker, Oct 14, 2011 IP
  7. cro91

    cro91 Peon

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    #7
    You obviously are not from the U.S. then. :p (Joke)

    Everyone sues everyone over here and I wouldn't put past some one seeking "Damages" if he hosted the pictures on his server. I wonder if you could just link them from there website?

    What would be the rules about that?
     
    cro91, Oct 14, 2011 IP
  8. stinker

    stinker Well-Known Member

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    #8
    No, im not from U.S. and its true - i can not comment on this what is happening there in U.S., i just say what stories i have read in the past. I had in the past some interest to know regarding images copyright possible issues and was searching the internet and forums for the stories happened to others, i have mentioned what i found so far (the guy had lost domain, hosting, adsense ban) this was the saddest story i have found :)

    Maybe you need to be a big fish when someone finds profitable to sue you?

    Because what he can get from regular webmaster who using copyrighted images....?
    Maybe it is not even worth to pay for this legal procedure to sue him (imho)

    It just easier and cheaper for copyright holder to ask webmaster to remove copyrighted images.
     
    Last edited: Oct 14, 2011
    stinker, Oct 14, 2011 IP
  9. Slimmy

    Slimmy Peon

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    #9
    be careful
     
    Slimmy, Oct 20, 2011 IP
  10. Pitu

    Pitu Active Member

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    #10
    if u are not from usa then dont be panic
    but be care full
     
    Pitu, Oct 24, 2011 IP