Hey guys, I have a page up that links to an ID card of a female that was on DeviantArt. I am doing an article on her and used the image to wrap around the content of my site. She says it is in violation of Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1125. On the graphic design she owns, it holds no copyright and like I said, I found the image off DevianArt. The reasoning she said is because it "incorrectly leads your visitors to believe that you may be directly connected to, associated with, or connected" to her. I added a brief disclaimer under the image that states "I am in no way affiliated, connected, or associated with ***** in any way." Is this sufficient enough?
All images, articles, and artwork have an automatic copyright upon creation and need permission to use them. No disclaimer will get around it. You just can't take someone else's work and use it without their permission - no matter how much you think it may be "helping" them. I suggest you take down the image before they file a complaint with google or your ISP and get your site taken down - or sue your for usage fees.
It's not artwork. It is just an ID card she created that shows her picture and what she likes to do. If I make my own would I be fine that way?
It doesn't matter if you consider it "artwork" or not. If she created the image, she automatically holds the copyright and if you use it without her permission, you are infringing. You could make an image of your own, as long as you don't use her photo (unless you photographed her yourself) and it isn't a copy of the image she created.