can you post a photo of someone on your site or blog without asking for their permission if that photo is available on the internet?
Read: Copyright what you need to know! or Copyright 101 After that, if you have any questions, ask here. The short answer is NO.
The answer is actually YES - as long as you have the copyright owner's permission. The person IN the photograph has no say whatsoever. As a general rule the copyright belongs to whoever took the photograph.
It is not as simple as that. People have the right to control how images of them are used (known as right of publicity). If a photographer wants to use an image of a person (model) they need that person to sign a model release form given them permission to use the image depicting the person. Further reading: Legal Pitfalls in Taking or Using Photographs of Copyright Material, Trademarks and People The substantive law behind model releases Photography and Privacy So you see, the issues involved are much more complex than just the fact that the person who took the photography owns the copyright, and that you need the copyright holders person. Especially in the case with websites it will be viewed as commercial use (which is in breach of the right of publicity) even if you only have one ad on the site. So the answer remains NO. At least from a standpoint where you would be legally safe.
I'm not going to say you can do it but truthfully your chances of getting in trouble and going to court are slim. Half of websites on the internet have some kind of image that was created by someone else and they dont have permissions to post it on their site.
Depending on the image and situation the chances might not be as slim as you think. Getty images and other photo agencies are going after Bloggers and the like with a vengeance. It's always best to be safe rather than sorry.
Yea thats true...but usually they will contact you first and let you know and ask you to take it off, they're not going to take you to court right away. There is a lot of money involved with going to court. Unless you're huge website that makes millions they will know that going to court will be in their advantage and they can get money out of you. But some college student that has a site with copyrighted images and makes $200 a month from the site they're not going to take you to court right away. They will scare you with a C&D letter and make you take it off, then if you dont they will take you to court. But still you should never take the chance because you never know who you're going to deal with.