Lets say there is a certain computer part I am writing about. Can I use a pic from the manufacturer's site, or a retailer's site, if I save it and host it myself?
Well if I ask, I'm guaranteed to either get ingored or denied. I just don't see how they could trace it though. It may be unethical, but is it illegal?
If you're using someone's copyrighted images without their permission, then yes there's a chance it's illegal. But being unethical should really be enough for you not to do it. Best bet... if you can't reach them to ask them, see if they have a press or media section on their site. A lot of larger companies do, and they specifically supply photos of their logo, high level employees, products, etc. for review purposes and such. Jenn
What about using pictures from eBay of comercial products? If someone is selling something, (say a picture of a harddrive) can you use it if its from eBay?
I've gotten auctions kicked off ebay for people using my pictures without permission. Its infuriating. The creator spends time making them, editting them, etc, and someone else just right clicks and its theirs? That's crap.
You cannot use any photograph (except for images in the public domain) without permission. It's copyright infringement and the owner of the image can collect a usage fee (which they set, and can be thousands of dollars). Many times usage rights remain with the photographer, and they will be the one to sue you. Say I have a product and I hire a photographer to take a picture of a certain product. My usage rights might be for my website only - and it could be for a set period of time, or even on a certain page. When someone takes the picture, the photographer can sue the person who stole the image and I would have no say it as I did not even have the right to allow someone else to use the image. I have a friend who used a 60x60 pixel thumbnail that was taken from the getty images website. They demanded a $1000 usage fee and are now suing this person for copyright infringement. Even if you hire a web designer, or buy an established site, you are legally responsible to have permission to use any image. As the site owner, you will be sued even if you didn't know what the web designer did. You could go after the designer to recover any damages you had to pay - but if you couldn't collect from them, you are still responsible for paying the copyright holder.
Ok, so what's the public domain? If you need an example, I'm wondering about pictures from www.newegg.com.
No, you cannot use those pictures without permission. For what you are trying to do, there are not likely any pictures in the public domain and you will need to get permission. If an image allows use, it would have a disclaimer say you are free to use, without restriction - or public domain images where the copyright has expired (like old civil war pictures).
Manufacturers/distributors usually allow their pictures to be used, but only if you are using them to sell their product
They generally let the press, including websites, use them as well for editorial purposes. A lot of manufacturer websites will have a section for the media with photos put there for the use of the various branches of the media. Press releases also generally come with hi res photos attached for website use. In terms of risk, assuming you aren't teeing off on the manufacturer, there is slim chance that they are going to come after you for giving their product some additional exposure, no matter what legal claims they might or might not have. Retailers (which is what NewEgg is) are a different story. I would never, ever, ever lift a photo from a retailer's site without written permission. I know one guy with a fairly well known ecommerce site in its niche who was accused of sucking all the photos from a competitor's site and using them to build his own. According to the allegations, the pictures were watermarked, and he was caught dead to rights. He got fired, and then sued, by the guy who had merged companies with him, and the payout for the company he had built pretty much went away. He seemed way too smart and ethical to do something that dumb and dishonest, and I never heard his side of the story, but that the mere allegation of such stuff could pretty much mess with his life is instructive on its own. Content sites are like retailers. The photos are probably watermarked, even if you can't tell by looking, and if they catch you and are motivated they can be nasty about your taking them. Photos can be subtly, almost invisibly watermarked, so that someone can tell where it came from if they know where to look. Don't assume you can't be caught for lifting photos.
Ok, I guess I'll use pictures from the manufacturer's site, and hope I don't get sued I have been checking pictures for a certain product, and I have checked a few different sites (including the manufacturer's), and it looks like they are all using the same pics, so they must the the manufacturer's pics.