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Blog Photos: How to use images from the Internet and not get sued

The other day I had an idea, and decided to open a Group where we could share some pictures with each other, and not have to worry about all the Copyright stuff. The Flickr Group is called: Foto Share Shop for Bloggers . Any Active Rain Member, or other Blogger is welcome to join, and use the Photos in the Group for your Blogs.

Flickr Group Collage of Shared Photos

Each of these Photos, and more, are available for you to use if you are a Blogger. They are available for WEB use, but the person who took the photo did not give permission to use it for Print Materials like Newsletters, Brochures, Fliers, or Postcards, etc.

You can use any of the Photos for your blogs as long as you give the Photographer credit for the Photo.

The Photos in this Collage are from left to right:

Orange Flower-Kathy McGraw

Custom Doorway-Ioana Negrau

Snail-Ioana Negrau

Fruit- Tami Vroma

Another contributor to date is Nannette Saunders. I really love one of her photos and was going to use it here, but it was sized wrong. It was about the size of a small postage stamp-not big enough for any real blogging use.

So, that taught me something-tell people the size needed :) My suggestion is to upload nothing larger or smaller than an 800x600 size which is Medium. This makes a nice picture for web use, but not for print. And we're using a Creative Commons License so anyone can take your pic and change it, add a frame, etc. as long as they give you credit for the Original, and don't change the License (CC copyright).

Flickr Group Screen Shot

Save this URL http://www.flickr.com/groups/sos4blog/ and it should take you directly to the Group. Any Active Rain, or other Blogger is welcome to join. The rules are pretty simple:

Only your own Photos can be uploaded,
You have to agree to use a CC License, not a regular Copyright
You have to allow Commercial Use.
No Adult Themed Photos of Activities, Toys, ect. This is a PG-13 Group
CC License Agreement is to allow anyone to use your Photo with Attribution (lic #3 as of this date)

Wooden Bridge

We will be using the Creative Commons License because it's easier for everyone who truly wants to share their photos.

You will get your name (attribution) on others Posts for the benefit of being allowed to use your photo.

The benefit is we can use any of the Photos in the Group, and can modify them if we want, and we know that if they are in there we can use them for Commercial Purposes-Our Blog :)

This picture By Nannette Saunders I modified by adding a little more contrast and putting a border around it. I also put her name on it....

The Creative Commons License allows you to do this. You can modify any of the pictures, but you have to use the same License as the Original.

Upload only your own work and use whatever you need. Having just finished Brads Talk Radio Show with Lenn Harley and her Copyright Attorney Paul Thaler this information is actually up to the minute. I would really like to thank Lenn, Paul, Brad, and Rich for the information, and the time they took to help us all.

*** One of the things that is really pertinent to this Post is something Rich said about images. He stated that many people are going out and taking photos, and embedding a code (watermark?) in them for tracking purposes, then registering them. Once you take that image and use it they then come after you for damages. That's nothing really new, what is new is some people are apparently doing this "deliberately". Deliberately enticing people to use the photos, then coming after you for damages. As Rich said, The new "Cash Cow" of the Internet. Now that's some scary stuff......And we just wanted a picture :)

Another very important thing I came away from the Broadcast with is this: Our Active Rain and Outside Real Estate Blogs are Commercial and they're Copyrighted!

Copyright Laws and You - Here's All You'll EVER Need To Know Brad's Post about the Broadcast- a must read!

CC License

Q-How does this effect you?

A- Sometimes we think we got all the permission we needed for a Photo, only to find out somewhere in the fine print was a prohibition for commercial use. All the Photos that are put into our Group have to allow Commercial Use. therefore they can be used on your blog :)

Q- I want to use one of the photos so what do I do.....

A- Join the Group. Flickr has rules of how to link to the photo-you can read them there. Just to save your butt...and to do it the right way.

Q- Is the Creative Commons Copyright the same as Lenn's Copyrighted Maps?

A- No. You cannot use Lenn's Maps....they have a regular Copyright. Our Photos have a Creative Commons one...which is a newer, more user friendly version for sharing on the Internet. There are different kinds, and for this you have to be careful in other Groups, and sites.

If you want to know more about Copyright Violations go read any of Lenn Harley's Posts. I am sure Brad will have a Post up today on the Broadcast.....but this Post was specific to the Creative Commons. I found a few old Posts that I think you might find useful when dealing with Photos. And keep in mind: You can always write the Person that took the Photo for Permission to use it, just get it in Writing :) This applies to any copyrighted material- get it in writing.

Here are a few great Blog Posts from my Bookmarked File to help you with Photos:

Free Photos At The Flickr Of A Mouse by Jeff Turner aka RESPRES(really talks about the Creative Commons on Flickr-and how to find other Pictures)

For The Love Of Creative Commons by Jeff Turner....(one benefit of this new Group is we are allowing Commercial use on the web and modification)

How to Add Pictures in Your Blog by Kristal Kraft (Excellent Tutorial)

How do I change my font size and color in my blogs? by Larry DeGroat (not for our Group, but some people can find this useful anyway)

picnik.com A FREE site (can upgrade) for Photo Finishing-and you can configure it to upload your pictures to Your Flickr Account/Group. You can also re-size your photos here.

***IMPORTANT GROUP INFO***

Disclaimer:This Group is NOT for you if you worry about who is using your photo. We are a Group of Bloggers that just want to have a means to get a picture we might not have. Who knows it just might give you another avenue of name recognition. Also, this Group is a PG-13 Rated Group, or an R minus :).....only pictures that are appropriate for the "majority" of bloggers are allowed. I am not an Attorney, and am not giving legal copyright advice...everyone is to read the info on the CC License Page themselves.

*** Reminder: You must manually change the copyright notification to the one listed above: CC By. If you desire a picture that someone forgot to change the CC License then put a notification (nicely please in the Group). Remember the whole idea is to feel safe, use a pic. if we need, and getting credit is a plus. If you join Group you are giving notification that you are willing to share with ANY Web media that is not Adult themed.

**** Important Thought- I noticed some people have a Flick Account with a name like sassypants (just an example). Without your real name being on your picture you will get credit as Sassypants :) Something to think about. Is it possible to open 2 Flickr Accts???

Also-remember if you have certain pictures that you DON"T want to share, or you absolutely want to control how they're used, Don't put them in the Group, and don't put a CC License on them.I'm excited on how many people are sharing :)

Photography can add so much to our message,

as long as we don't have to worry about being sued.

By: Kathy McGraw- CELLing Realty in Riverside County

Posted by Kathy McGraw, Riverside County CA Real Estate on 11/13/2008 05:46 PM

Comments (79)

Photography Copywrite in the ActiveRain Channel

cc, copyright, photography, flickr, foto share shop for bloggers

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79 Comments on Blog Photos: How to use images from the Internet and not get sued

NOV

Kathy, Wow, you're getting SO good at finding wonderful information and sharing it! I mostly use my own photos but there are many times I'm looking for something different. Thanks for a wonderful source!

Wonderful to give the new (and old) members who don't know better some information. Bottom line for me is I stick to taking my own and using only what's allowed from my software program (gotta read disclaimers for everything)

Had to work this am so missed the show...darn.

That is very cool Kathy. I actually heard your announcement on the copyright radio show today.

Great show today, huh? I really enjoyed it. This is fabulous follow-up. I'll have to upload some of my gazillion pics. This is a cool way to share with one another and help our fellow Rainers stay out of trouble. GBU~

Awesome! Thanks. I always feel my general posts are very boring due to the lack of photos. I'll be sure to contribute as well as use the photos. Thanks for getting this all going.

Kathy, great idea and one many people will appreciate. Thanks for starting this group and articulating these guidelines so well.

Kathy

Thanks for the excellent post; I am going to join this.

Sincerely

Tom Braatz

Kathy ... great post. Very useful and informative. I have joined the Flickr group and bookmarked your post. Thanks

This is a wonderful idea.. .thank you for implementing it.

Kathy, thanks so much for setting this up.

Kathy, Kathy, Kathy... what an absolutely awesome, helpful idea!!! You are really on a hot streak this month! Thx so much for starting Foto Share Shop as well as adding it to the group. I'm seriously impressed!

Kathy,

Your like the female version of Marti:) Great idea and I guess I'll join this group. I don't join many groups as a matter of fact...I've deleted more of the ones I still have because I never post there.

Kathy,

I learned so much about the use of Flicker recently...I think I'll have to join the Group...great info!

Great idea Kathy! I just joined and added a bunch of my pics to the group. Thanks for sharing the resource :)

Hi Cathy, I can see why this post is featured so quick!! I have just joined the Flickr group but I am still in the process of figuring my own flickr account out. I've been slow to get on the Fickr band wagon I ugess.

Wow, Thanks Kathy! This is really cool. I have been wanting to find some photos to spruce up my blogs a bit but was at at total loss. Again thank you.

Thanks for all the info and getting this all set up for us.

Hello Kathy and thank you for the useful information.

Well Kathy, as a photographer , I sure hope you are not suggesting people go out and use photographs without consent of the photographer. I trust that everyone that posts photo's to your Group is aware of the the Creative Commons licensing. Now , I know that sometimes it maybe impossible to track down the copyright holder of an image as it has been passed around so many times and altered slightly each time , but I would encourage anyone using photographic images to try and find the source and be sure you have permission before using it. One solution to this is a Site called www.photrade.com which give you the ability to use extremely high quality photographs that display the Copyright holders watermark snd afix a small tag which when clicked takes them to an advertisement , usually related to the photograph. The Photographer gets paid a fee based on the click through. This system is fair to everyone.

Bill

Kathy,

Great idea and wonderful post. Thanks. I've bookmarked this post to peruse more carefully later. I'll look through my "special" photos to find some to share.

Kathy, you are one cool chick! I recently figured out my login and password (after weeks of inactivity) and will do my best to make a valuable contribution to this group. Thanks to you for your efforts to find another resource for all of us. :D

Have a great week (or what's left of it)!

Carole-Hi there...yes, I mostly, in fact always have used my own photos. Sally gave me some Graphics to use that she owned the rights to, and that helped me tons. Pay it foreword, isn't that what we were taught :)

Sally-The show was a really good one....I had a few technical difficulties, so listened by phone. As expected Lenn sure knows her stuff :) And as far as reading the disclaimers I learned from you on some of them......and if I lived in Paradise, and wrote like you I wouldn't need this resource.....but hey we can't all live in Hawaii LOL :)

Ryan- Thanks.....I was not prepared for Brad to say and we have a called from the 951 area code :) I should have said like the others ..."But I didn't raise my hand." It was a good show, and I will read the other posts later tonight :)

Elizabeth-Hi....when you do upload, make sure you join the Group first. Then Organize your pictures and there's another tab that says permissions.......find the cc lic (4th one down) that says Attribution Creative Commons- you can even do this in a Batch for your photos......anyway sure hope it works out the way it's intended :)

Vickie- Ah I just had the idea, and did the initial set-up.....we are the sum of how good it will be :)

Margaret-Thanks....need is the true mother of invention. I know there is a need, now we can all help fulfill it.

Tom- Hi...I hope you find it useful...I just went in there and Candice put a couple pictures that I love...funny but I'm trying to think of a Post to use some of the pictures :)

Sharon- Good...I love it when people are able to get their needs met :) Don't forget to license all your photos with the Attribution CC one.

Alan- You're Welcome :)

Tim & Pam-Hopefully I don't live to regret it LOL.....as long as everyone is honest in what they upload, then we shouldn't have any problems....

marti-Wow, coming from you "I" am impressed :) Hey did you like my new Copyright Divider...this was such a perfect time to use it. And after today I think I might just use it more, you did such a nice job of making it......thanks again I love "all" my Marti Garaughty Graphic Art :)

Neal-How funny your comment was right under Marti's and what a great compliment thanks....lol ;) I know you don't do many of the Group things, but this one might actually come in handy at some point :)

Midori-There is so much Internet stuff to learn, and I had not used my Flickr Acct. ever....until I got this idea on Monday :) And already I see some new members, and new photos.....yes the power of the people for sure :)

Candis- Wow....I want to write 2 Posts now....one so I can use your Rooster (I love Roosters) and the other one with your Deer....what a great photo. Thanks for adding these wonderful photos :)

Marchel- One step at a time....:) You'll get it, especially if you see a need. I didn't use it, or do anything because I had no need.........

Candice-Ahhh it's nice to see someone that had a need :) Just don't forget to use the cc By Lic. and the Photographers Name.

Michael- It entertained me, and that's not always easy :)

Sounds like a very neat idea. I usually have enough pphotos but every once in a while.

Very cool Kathy. I love your pictures and think it's great that you've opened the group.

Julie- Hello and you're welcome :)

Bill- I am not sure if you read everything but I have been very specific about uploading only your own photos. So, if we upload ONLY our own photo's to a share group then we know who owns the copyright....we do. The Group is allowing others to use their photos under the CC Lic. as stated several times here. It is specifically because of the not knowing, and all the other ramifications of using a photo in our blogs that the idea for this group was formed. I do thank you for your link, and concern for a Photographers Work :)

Richard- Thanks....oh, and some just regular shots are needed.....think of the things you write about and what kind of photo would go in it.

Ann-Wow, between you, marti, and Neal I could get a swollen head :) Anyway, thanks....and I'm sure you'll get it. If not, ask one of us for help.....if we don't know how to do it we'll find someone. You have a great rest of the week also :)

Best Spot Realty- Exactly....it's that "every Once in awhile" that maybe we can help each other :)

Monika-Thanks, and now you can join and put a picture of a duck parade LOL :).....

Kathy, really good information in this post. It's helpful that you pointed out that it's not just about the Creative Commons license, you should also make sure that the photograph can be used for commercial purposes. Flickr does allow for that criteria in the advanced search mode as well.

Thanks for sharing the information about photos. I am just using my own from now on because so many free photo sites have small print.

Great idea -- you are so creative -- I think this will be a big asset to the rainers. As Lola points out Flckr's advanced search does permit CC license which can be use for commercial purposes with proper attribution.

I missed the radio show today... had to drive my husband to a dr. appt. Thanks for the information. Will be checking out the group soon.

I got to hear the show today, and was amazed at how packed with info it was...and it was good to hear Lenn Harley. This is a FANTASTIC post and follow up Kathy! thank you so much for your hard work on this! Your blogs are a wonderful resource for so much learning... Thank you!!

Kathy, deliberately setting out to come after people for damages is bizarre but probably a sign of the times.

That is simply genius! I've been frustrated lately trying to find new images for my blogs, so this just makes my day. Thanks so much.

Cool idea Kathy. I joined and added a few. I have some better ones at work I will add later.

Kathy - You go to the head of the class with this post. Congrats on the feature! Great information and what a terrific way to find just the right pictures for our blogs. I was on the call today and really enjoyed all the information and questions that were asked. I'm off to join the group and will be going through my photos to upload them.

I look forward to finding some of my better shots and uploading them to the group. Today's show was enlightening and just reinforces how careful we need to be when it comes to photos and graphics.

Kathy ... this is such a great idea. Thank you for starting this group and sharing !!!

Kathy,

That is just absolutely WONDERFUL. Thank you. Great idea and a wonderful bonus for us. I can hardly wait to investigate all the various aspects of your post. Thanks again.

This was a great thing. Sharing ur idea to make others useful is of nice mentality. I have learned alot with ur idea. More over i am the beginner and i have learnt how use photos and graphics.

-----------------------------

Ariana.

<a href="http://moissanite-collection.com">Save on Moissanite Jewelry!</a>

NOV

Lola- thanks...there is a lot of info...if I can just get everyone to follow the few simple directions it'll be good :) Some people didn't change their permission notice (they left the copyright symbol).

Russ- Liked your saying..."so many Free Photo sites have small print" :)

Joan-Thanks...it sure is looking good for such a new Group. I just noticed though that I do not know everyones Flickr name, and some people didn't change the copyright symbol to the CC By one. But as in anything new it takes time :)

Tammy- Hope your husband is OK. Brad will post something about the Broadcast where I think you can still hear it :)

Mara-And your check is in the mail......sorry but I had to laugh. OK I'm under control now....yes that was a great show, and Lenn amazes me with her knowledge. I knew about the Copyright time from other activities, and here's one that wasn't mentioned. You can mail yourself your work and don't open the envelope. That was a tip I learned in some class a long time ago :)

Kathy ~ I think you can see from the responses what a helpful post this has been. Sorry, but I won't see you in court, thanks to your help.

Rick

Gary- Unbelievable isn't it? Guess it takes all kinds :(

Kerry- Perfect...now just remember to use the CC By symbol....and give credit to the Photographer.

Dominate YM-If you add some don't forget to change the copyright. Some people forgot and I don't know who they are by their username......

Donna-I smiled at your comment. I haven't been to the Head of the Class in ages LOL :) It was a good session wasn't it :) Now don't forget about changing your copyright symbol :)

Cindy- Isn't that the truth.....some people amaze me, and yet I wonder why I am amazed. Let's hope that the Group goes as planned....nice photos to share with nice people :)

Roland- You're Welcome :)

Derenda-:) Any questions you have are probably answered somewhere on here :) Enjoy the Group...I saw several pictures I could use ;) We have many good Photographers on here....

Ariana-New to Blogging...enjoy. And I am glad to hear you learned something, I learned from so many people here, and other blogs outside this particular network. What's the name of your Blog?

Rick- I would gladly see you over a coffee though :) Like I said need is the mother of invention :)

Great idea Kathy! and some really great photos from people already! This is going to be fun too. I uploaded a batch tonight -- I think I may have to go back and add the cc -- as I read through this I don't think it happens automatically.

Kathy - Thanks for the reminder about the correct CC symbol. I just went into the group and made the changes on my photos. :)

wow you have a lot of info here - I'll have to come back tomorrow and read it in more detail kath...miss you - its been a long time ! Good idea about the groupshare!

Kathy,

So I joined...now I'll have to get you and Marti to ghost comment for me. I'm runnig out of creative comments to leave:)

What a brilliant idea---this will be so helpful to all bloggers. I'll be joining and will try to upload some photos over the weekend. Thanks so much for thinking of this.

Kathy this is good information. I have some friends that might like to put there picture on this site so I will forward this info to them as well. Thanks for the Blog.

great info -- thanks for sharing -- i use a lot of images -- this will keep me out of A LOT of trouble :) JE

Hi - I have a question that I hope someone can answer. I am going to be doing an e-newsletter rather than a blog. It will only be available online - not in print. Can I also use photos the way bloggers do? I have so many of my own photos that I don't think I need any...but I thought I'd pose the question anyway.

Thanks

Linda Leyble

Studio of Decorative Arts (www.studioofdecorativearts.com)

Thanks for putting this group together...I am sure to be visiting soon and hopfully uploading some of my own photos to add.

Kathy - excellent information, very helpful...and much needed. Thanks for the assemblage and helping to keep out butts out of trouble!

Wow ! I will defintely re-read this post and some of the links. It is amazing that there is that much risk and info to know about photos and copyright. It is definitely better to be safe than sorry. It is hard to understand what are the damages but that is not really the point. Thanks so much for the great post and info !

Great idea and a fun way to help each other out. Not everyone has a stash of great photos to choose from. I'll have to check it out.

Good post, Kathy. Excellent information and well presented. It is good to have a place to find stock material.

What an awesome idea for a group and I'm in!

Hi Alex- Yes, I hope this works out as planned, and yes there are some great photos in there already. We need great but we also need just regular ones......I can't tell you how many times I just needed a simple photo of something :)

Donna- Perfect....I noticed several but don't know who people are. Another thought is people might want to have their real names...as getting credit as sassy pants doesn't help you much :)

Liz- Funny we were talking about you yesterday and wondering how you were :) There's a lot of info in the comments too :)

Neal- I think you're doing quite well with your CC (creative comments...LOL:) Now am I like Marti cuz the Post is long, or because it's good.....it does make a difference you know :) Thanks for the3 morning smile my friend, and hope all is well for you.

Diane- Welcome, and glad it can be useful. Just remember to change your license to the CC one.....

Abi- Thanks you, and as you see the rules are pretty simple. Make sure your friends understand that they can use, and give credit....if they find one that someone forgot to change the license....remind them gently please :)

Jason- Enjoy :)

Linda- The answer is yes.....our Group is allowing Commercial which is what Brad and Lenn have said AR is...so an online Newsletter is the same basically. Just make sure to have a link back to the CC lic and give the right Credit per Flickr rules.....Good Question, thanks.

Sonja- Sounds good to me :)

Gail- I love it when an idea comes together :) This will only work if all of us contribute, and do not get carried aways if someone forgets to do the right thing.

Christopher & Stephanie- This Post just barely touches the info.....bottom line is Never Right Click and take a photo, image, or text that isn't yours. There can be hefty fines for copyright violations. As a few people in yesterdays Broadcast said...."If it's not yours don't use it" that should keep everyone out of trouble. This is the next step.....this new license.

Terri- Isn't that the truth....and think about like Jeff said in his Post (link above) maybe someone just needs a sign :)

Kris- Yes there are many places, this is just an easy way for us as Bloggers to add our own stuff and share with each other for FREE.

Todd- Alrighty then :)

Kathy- Great post and great information. We all love using visual tools in our blogs sometimes a picture is what gets the message that we are trying to convey off to the reader. I love using pictures in my blog posts. This will make it allot easier to do so.

Skye- I agree with your sentiments, and hope you find this useful :) BTW I love your name.....reminds me of a movie I used to watch as a kid....Skye King :)

Very interesting here. I will look into this. Thanks so much

Thanks

Don

HI KATHY!

That's so selfless of you to be willling to share your photos with us. And the great thing is that we won't have to wrorry about CC issues. Thanks and have a wonderful weekend.

Kathy ~ I am in as well...I love what can be done with the pictures...like the example you provided in this post. Very Kewl!!

Kathy, Wow, I am crowning you the QUEEN of Creative Commons today! That is an incredible idea. NOW, I have so many different user names because we have cabin rentals and I do Staging, ugh.. God bless you !! I can't wait to load up some photos and check out the others..

Hey Kathy, I just joined and my user name "HeavenlyCabins" for now because that happens to be my current Flickr account. Thanks again and God bless,

Kathy thank you for providing this resource and giving us tips on how to use it. I am sure that ActiveRain members will visit this site regularly.

Kathy: so much wonderful, helpful info that I had to bookmark it, so I can come back and check it ALL out.

THANKS!

Kathy - what an awesome group! Now...I just need to learn how to take photographs! When I take one from my car I always get a picture of me taking a picture! LOL...there must be a trick to it somehow! I think I'll join your group and get some pointers!

Don- thanks...

Yvette- Well now I might have started it with an idea, but it's really everyone that joined and contributed that deserves the thanks .....I will take the sentiment to have a good week-end though and thanks :)

Terrie- Have fun, and come back and let me know what you make with any of the pictures :)

Cheryl- Heavenly Cabins it is....hopefully if you join any discussion you also put your name....I'd hate to call you Cabin LOL :) I loved your comments...they had energy in them....have a good day.

George- Thanks my friend, and I do hope that people that need or want use it.

Kat- Hi there...I love Bookmarking, it's kind of like a library....we get to go back and read when we want :)

Linda-that's funny....but hey maybe someone needs a photo of someone taking a photo LOL :) You're cute!

Kathy, Great work. I will be joining the group.

Thank you for sharing valuable information.

NOV

Kathy the group is an awesome idea and I love the tutorial! I am excited about the new photos on the group and when I have new ones worthy I will add.

Ok now I have to get that tutorial up for the linked in widget you wanted. :-)

Robin & Sharon :)

Nannette- My widget....oh yea...and the Twitter one too please :)

Kathy - that was great and so informative. I've been carrying my camera with me every where I go so that I can start my own collection of photos! You have several links that I need to go check out. VERY good info! Thank you.

NOV

Thanks for this great post. It is very helpful and useful info. Will be joining your AR group. Now I might have to join Flickr too.

Thanks! It is a great article.

NOV

Connie-You're welcome, and getting your own stock library is very helpful for almost all your RE Marketing, including blogging.

Michael-I hope it all works out for you...I am using my first picture from the Group tomorrow, as I do not have a picture of an Eagle available :)

Grace- You're Welcome.

DEC

Kathy, I love this idea. I have joined the group, and will be adding photos soon.

Bob- Sounds good, and don't forget to read the Discussion as it tells you to make sure you change the permission to a CC License. We are allowing anyone to use the pictures with a link back, and attribution for the Original Photographer.

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