There are many blurry lines when it comes to what photos can and cannot be used on a blog/website/newsletter/etc. There is one rule every blogger and business owner should follow, and that is: If you are not the photographer or if you did not have direct contact with the photographer, you are not safe to use the image!

There are a lot of "free" stock photo sites out there that many bloggers and businesses are using. The only thing free about these sites is their liability!

Look closely at the terms and conditions of these sites...they will say things like, "You agree that neither (place the stock photo site's name here) nor its affiliates, nor any of their respective officers, directors, employees, owners, agents, representatives, licensors and (sub)licensees (other than yourself, as applicable), shall be liable for any damages, whether direct, incidental, indirect or consequential, arising from any use by you of the Website, even if such parties have been advised, or advised of the possibility, of such damage."

Many of these websites operate by trading or receiving photographs from its "members" who have agreed to "give" their photos and copyrights to the site to be redistributed for free. The "members" are asked to certify that they are the rightful owners of the photograph and they are submitting their work.

Well, in a perfect world...this would work just fine...but the subject of copyright is wrapped with far too much red tape to keep any users of these sites to stay out of trouble.

If a "member" uploads a photo that they copied from another website or did not rightfully own and you post it to your blog or your website...YOU ARE LIABLE TO BE SUED!!!

If a "member" uploads a photo that they did take and own the copyright to, but they do not have the proper release signed by the person or brand owner of the photographs subject...YOU ARE LIABLE TO BE SUED!!!

If a "member" uploads a photo that they did take and own the copyright and they do have a proper release signed regarding brand owner or person of the subject in the photograph and you use it in a way that can be considered defamation of character or slander...YOUR ARE LIABLE TO BE SUED!!!

Example #1:

There was a case in Minneapolis where the phone company used a Photograph of the city taken by a photographer that posted his image online. When the photographer saw his image on the phone book and knew that he had not submitted it for their use he began to inquire. The phone company claimed that they had rightfully attained the photograph from someone else who had clearly stolen it. Even though the phone company had documentation regarding the purchase of the photograph they were forced to pay $19,462 in a copyright lawsuit.

Example#2:

At a Virginia state fair in 1996 a photographer took a photograph of Andrew Marsinko holding a prize goose. The photograph was then sold to a notable stock photography agency which then sold the photograph to the Leanin' Tree greeting card company. The card company put the following quote on their greeting card over the photograph of Mr. Marsinko and his prized goose, "Since it's your birthday, you decide - Would you rather get spanked... or goosed?" The card was mass-produced in 2006...and there is an ongoing lawsuit still today.

Overall, be careful when you use images for your blogs and websites. DO NOT trust sites that allow you to take photos for free but accept no liability of their own! Remember to practice safe blogging!

ALL images are always owned by Ian Haseltine & Haseltine-Photo - Real estate photography and Virtual Tour Provider.