I was wondering. I see all these wallpaper sites and stuff, with pics of celebrities and stuff. Is it actually legal to use them?
Well no the images would be copyrighted, unless you got some creative commons license with no limitations on them or free stock photos form say sxc.hu.
Well.. Copyrisht images are also used very easily.. who has a time to see which image is free and which is copyrighted... so use as u want..
Unless they're free anyways. Wallpapers don't get people in trouble for the most part because many wallpapers fly so far on the net. I wouldn't worry about it myself lol
All wallpapers, images and illustrations are automatically copyrighted upon creation. Without permission, you can be sued, forced to pay a usage fee and damages, and in extreme cases, you can be charged criminally - some people have gone to jail for years. It doesn't matter "if everyone else does it" - you can't use that as a defense if you are targeted. A DMCA filed can have your site taken down, removed from search engines, result in your adsense account being terminated. You always need permission to use something you didn't create. I suppose you don't have to worry about it if you have no money or assets, and never expected to have either.
Yes u right .... is matter about money, if u are some giant like google, beware, my friend just paid 100k for two photo usage
I would think that as long as the wallpapers you put on your website are free there is no problem, the Fair Use Act "should" protect you. Not 100% sure, Hopefully someone can clear that up for you. Edit, someone answered this below, thought I would throw the possibility out there.
Fair Use wont protect you. Fair use is if you want to comment or review on the photo or teach people about it. Plus with advertisements on the page through adsense or whatever will violate the noncommercial nature that your using the photos for. Fair Use will not protect you.