Hey everyone,
I am creating a website and I am wondering what the general rules are with posting pictures/content off other websites and using it on my own. For instance, can I go to Ford.com and download a picture of the new F150 and post that? What about using mottos like Built Ford Tough? Just trying to figure out whats the deal.
Technically you should have permission.
copyright infringement...
If you're making any money off the site or even if you're just advertising to cover running costs and it gets too popular, you'll get your ass sued off. If you're paying the running costs out of pocket i.e. the site is non-profit, the copyright holders tend to look the other way.
without permission, you would be vulnerable - whether it's good business sense to sue your fans - debatable.
Anything on the web is public domain, so long as you provide source information to the people viewing the site. You are allowed to make money from the advertisements on the site itself, so long as you are not using the images themselves to advertise a product or service. So long as they are used "for media purposes only", you shouldn't have a problem.
At worst, they can issue a "cease and desist" notice, and as long as you comply, you're golden.
I write for several blogs and have never had any issue pulling photographs or files from any site anywhere, so long as you put the caveat at the bottom of the page "Photos: Ford"
Maroon92 wrote: Anything on the web is public domain, so long as you provide source information to the people viewing the site.
This is absolutely untrue. "public domain" has a very specific meaning (it refers to intellectual property which is not copyrighted and cannot BE copyrighted by anyone). IP only becomes public domain if it has been explictly placed there by the original copyright holder or if the copyright has expired (which, thanks to Disney, basically doesn't happen any more).
There are lots of sources of information on the net about the details of copyright, such as:
http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-fairuse.html
Maroon92 wrote: Anything on the web is public domain, so long as you provide source information to the people viewing the site.
Yeah, that's not true at all.
^^Agree. I have had people purchase greeting cards with my photos on them, specifically marked with the copyright notice and labeled "not for reproduction" and post them on the net. I have notified them, had them put on a copyright notice in my name (I happened to belong to that site anyhow, and didn't want to screw them, they're OK people) and all is cool - the problem is that without the notice, and an actual agreement in place with me, someone else could grab the image from the first site, and then you lose control. In the case of that particular image, of a famous location used in the movie "True Grit", I've sold a lot of cards, and also sold specific use to John Wayne Enterprises for use in their John Wayne Monopoly board game - so defense of intellectual property is important, even for little guys like me.
I'm in the midst of a cease and desist situation right now with a small t-shirt manufacturer who did the same thing, bought a few cards and put the images on a shirt. Now they're crying poor, claiming that they are not my images (baloney, I can prove it), and that I can't do anything about it, and when I threaten or ask for a royalty, they accuse me of being mean.
And the bigger the outfit (like Ford, etc) the more protective they will be.
Now, if you take your own photo of an F-150 and use it, there should be no problem.
Pretty much the only simple images for public domain determination are those made before 1923. They are all technically public domain. After that, the copyright law has changed several times,so it depends on when the image was taken, in some cases whether the image was formally registered and renewed, etc. These days an image is protected from the moment of creation for the lifetime of the artist and a certain number of years beyond, whether or not any formal paperwork is filed.
Lets take names for example. How come forums are allowed to named Mazda6club or TDIclub. Any issues with that?
Meh...
It's much easier to beg forgiveness than to ask permission. Like I said before, as long as you provide proper credit and promptly handle cease and desist orders, you should be fine.
Maroon92 wrote: It's much easier to beg forgiveness than to ask permission. Like I said before, as long as you provide proper credit and promptly handle cease and desist orders, you should be fine.
There's what you can get away with and there's what's right. You can probably sleep in your neighbor's house without permission while he's away, so long as you clean up after yourself and don't t take anything with you, but that doesn't make it right.
1) logos, slogans, etc are different - they are trademarks, a similar situation but a different legal situation. Trademark holders have to take action to protect their property to prevent it from becoming generic - see Kleenex, Kodak, Xerox, etc., so they tend to be aggressive.
2) Just be aware that in any copyright infringement judgement, the minimum award is $750 per occurrence, and can go up a whole bunch, into the tens of thousands of dollars, and there are lots of lawyers out there who specialize in these cases. It's your gamble on getting caught. It depends on who you tick off. If a board member here asks to use one of my photos and gives it proper credit, I'm probably going to say OK, but that's me. If someone just steals an image and uses it without even contacting me, and I find out about it, they'll get a notice - but then, I'm in the business and need to, even though it's just a sideline.
codrus wrote:Maroon92 wrote: It's much easier to beg forgiveness than to ask permission. Like I said before, as long as you provide proper credit and promptly handle cease and desist orders, you should be fine.There's what you can get away with and there's what's right. You can probably sleep in your neighbor's house without permission while he's away, so long as you clean up after yourself and don't t take anything with you, but that doesn't make it right.
I am, in no way, implying that anyone should do anything untoward. I am using this instance in which Ford has placed marketing information on their website for the use of promoting their own vehicles. Generally speaking, you are allowed to use these photographic images for journalistic purposes without any express permission. Like I said before, if you get a note saying they don't want you using that image, apologize profusely and promptly remove it.
It isn't that hard, guys... Do you think Autoblog or Jalopnik gets express permission for every image on their site? They wouldn't ever get any writing done dealing with all the legal drivel.
Maroon92 wrote: It isn't that hard, guys... Do you think Autoblog or Jalopnik gets express permission for every image on their site? They wouldn't ever get any writing done dealing with all the legal drivel.
Do you think the New York Times gets express permission (or very carefully ensures that it's covered under "fair use") for every image they use? Hell yes they do. Do you think the GRM staff does when they make the magazine? I'm quite confident that is also the case.
If Jalopnik and Autoblog want to be taken seriously as journalists they need to stop ripping off other peoples' copyrighted content. This is not "legal drivel".
Copyright laws are the work of the devil. It blows me away how greedy some people can be.
We always make sure that we have permission/rights to use any image that we feature in the mag or online. For one, it's the right thing to do. Also, we really don't have the time for a legal battle. If you're looking for a certain image, there's a legal way to get it.
I have a question...
Why build a website if you want to use other people's material?
If all you are trying to do is post pics of stuff you like, use Facebook, or one of the photo posting sites.
Why bother building a site? Does your site have a purpose, like a product to sell, or a service to promote? Is it an advocacy site?
I'm not understanding why you would go to the trouble to build a site if you don't have an independent purpose for it to exist. Can't you get your own pics and articles? Do you ever intend to monetize it in any fashion? Then don't use other people's stuff.
Zomby Woof wrote: Copyright laws are the work of the devil. It blows me away how greedy some people can be.
Yes, because whoever has an original idea and puts forth the effort to create something should give it away so others can profit from their work.
Like David said, just do the right thing. In this day of patent and copyright trolls. Its not worth the hassle of a legal battle down the road or the money its going to cost in the future.
In addition different brands handle this differently. I know for a fact that Porsche is very strict about their images and logos, for example.
Ford has been aggressive about it in the past as well. Just to continue with the company used as an example. If you want Ford images, go to their media center and follow the rules laid out. No worries.
It's not that hard to ask permission, and it can be a lot less painful in the long run. I've had my stuff stolen - the best example was when a lazy graphic artist lifted my picture and put my recognizable in an ad for a Miata tuning company. A direct competitor to FM. Heck, I think the ad ran in GRM. Let me tell you how happy that tuning company was when they found that out, and a certain graphic artist lost his gig doing ads.
Copyright is not an easy issue. It exists for a good reason - it allows people to make a living. But it's also abused quite a bit. Basically, don't try to make money off someone else's work and you won't have any problems.
I work in advertising/marketing and I'll tell you what I've come to know in my experience.
Enyar wrote: I am creating a website and I am wondering what the general rules are with posting pictures/content off other websites and using it on my own....
You MUST have permission and the secure the rights in order to do the above. Using another person's/company's content as your own is (I'm pretty sure) plagiarism. You MUST ALSO give credit to whomever created said content.
Enyar wrote: ...For instance, can I go to Ford.com and download a picture of the new F150 and post that?...
See above. You MUST have permission and the rights to use an image that is not of your creation. Remeber, Ford paid ALOT of cash to photograph, retouch and use that image and use it in many formats, not just on their website.
Enyar wrote: ...What about using mottos like Built Ford Tough?...
ABSLOLUTELY NOT. That is copyright infringement and you WILL get a letter/email from the Ford legal department. (Incedentally it's not a "motto", it's called a tagline, advertising jargon, sorry to be a picky-pickingston, it's the years of being in ad agencies...)
I think SVrexV also makes some great points. You should think about what it is you want to do with your website first and get everything down on paper and go over it with a fine tooth comb. Then have a sitdown with a buddy and discuss it, you'd be surprised what comes out of conversations like that. It's very important to have a purpose for the website otherwise why would anyone want to go to it?
Anyway, that's my $0.02, we now return you to your regularly scheduled car silliness...
Backing up, specifically what are you looking to do?
oldtin wrote: Yes, because whoever has an original idea and puts forth the effort to create something should give it away so others can profit from their work.
It's one thing to create something and make money. It's quite another to keep going back to the well.
One of my suppliers directed me to their website to look at a product, and I found that a good number of their photos had been stolen from my site. I was a little put out.
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