How can I use photos of celebrities on my website? Can I get them from anywhere, or what? The celebrity in question is Jennifer Lopez. Thanks in advance.
I think you can use them and take them from anywhere but always use no watermarked images . If the image is watermarked than don't use it or other wise that site owner can take legal action against you for stealing content .
A watermark makes absolutely no difference on usage. All images have a copyright and you need permission to legally use them. The celebrity might not care about usage, but it's the photographer or their agency that usually own the rights. Using them without permission on a commercial site (takes in any income, advertising, donations, etc) is copyright infringement. The photographer can demand you pay a usage fee, which they get to set - (several thousand per image is not uncommon). Many people don't get caught, but you're taking a risk if you don't have permission. I know there are some sites that sell bulk rights to celebrity images - you pay a monthly or annual fee for usage of photos in their portfolio.
What if you get images from Google search? Could I put any of these on a site I have? http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=jennifer lopez&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi As long as I cite the source, is that okay?
I dont think you cite the source is OKAy. This is because you never know if that site owner "has" total right to it. Even if he/she does, you are still legally bound to ask permission. With that said, I agree with mjewel that people "took" those photos to be placed on their sites all the time without getting caught ... but u may be at risk.
No. Citing the source does not make it legal. Google images are no different than any other source. You cannot legally use any images without express permission.
Ok thanks for everyone's help. I think I resolved this issue. How's this?: http://www.jennifer-lopez-pictures-lyrics.com/pictures/
It depends on how big your site is going to get. If its a small personal site use them!! If its getting 10,000+ visitors a day then don't in my opinion. I dont think celebrates suit websites unless they are facebook,google or myspace.
I bought a 100-Wallpapers package of Jennifer Lopez with great quality and no watermarks, and I had never had any copyright issue while I was running a gossip site in partnership with a friend of mine a few months ago. By the way, I can pass this to you for the price I paid since I'm now heading for a new professional facet away from celebrities and gossip and took that site offline since a while
try adding a disclaimer to your site citing that the source is unknown and that if the owner comes forward then you will give proper credit for the photo or willing remove it for them if they wish, I have used these disclaimers on most of my sites in the footers and although it may not be a great legal gaurentee, it does show that you tried to find the source and are willing to remove it etc
The best way would be to ask big site owners for permission to use their pictures. I am sure that some will let you use them.
Doesn't matter how many disclaimers you have, you can't post copyrighted images without permission from the owner. You might try searching flickr for images licensed under Creative Commons, most of which you can use as long as you cite them.
One thing is put up online celebrities pictures, not major problem, and another legal issue profiting using their name