Three rules to help you know what to look for in the search for useable photos.

When it comes to an understanding of copyrighted images most people fall into one of three camps:

1. Those who use any photos that they can find on google or social media without thinking twice about it. The internet is their oyster! “If people didn’t want me to use their photo, they shouldn’t have posted it.”

2. Those who know that there are legal ramifications of using photos without permission but don’t fully understand what’s considered legal so they wake up in a cold sweat fearing the copyright police might break down their door because while they thought they had done everything correctly, maybe they missed something.

3. Then, there are those who have learned the ins and outs of copyright usage during their time in law school and now their friends call them “lawyers”. Or, if they are not lawyers, they are involved in marketing in some way and maybe their neighbor is an Intellectual Property attorney. Otherwise, they’ve probably done a ton of research on copyright usage and are fully capable. (This blog post is not for these people.)

If you fall into the first camp and didn’t know that there was anything to consider when using photos, graphics, videos, or music, welcome to the party. “And by party, we mean minefield,” screams everyone who falls into camp two. While they aren’t wrong, copyright usage can feel like a complicated path to walk but with the right knowledge and understanding, you should be able to put out some great content without anxiety.

Here are a few rules that most people don’t know, but will help you better understand copyright usage.

First:
When a person takes a photograph they ultimately own the full copyright to that photo.

• Notice how this statement says “a person”. This means that you, even if you do not consider yourself a “photographer”, can take a photo with your iPhone while on vacation and that photo is copyright protected to you as the photographer. Congratulations, now you can add this title to your resumé.

• What this means: Any photo, whether on google image search, Instagram, Facebook or anywhere else, is copyright protected and the copyright ownership belongs to the person who created that photo.

Second:
A photo can be licensed for use by people and companies other than the photographer.

• Basically, photographers can rent their images to people and companies. Think of it like renting an apartment, there are specific rules that the renter must follow in order to remain in good standing and not be taken to court. There must be an agreement, usually a contract, to license a photo. This contract will set out a series of guidelines that define when, where, and how a photo can be used. A great way to see an example of this is at Getty Images under their price calculator. (See Example) They address whether the image will be printed or used at a lower resolution image for social media, how long the chosen photo can be used, and even in which target market geographically the image will be used. The pricing for the license can even increase or decrease depending on the estimated audience size. Think 100 people versus 50,000 people.

• While some images can be very expensive, there are other options. Places like iStock by Getty Images offer “Royalty-Free” images. Unlike the previous example, these royalty-free licenses let you pay a one-time fee to use copyrighted images in personal and commercial projects on an ongoing basis without requiring additional payments each time you use that image.

Third:
Some photographs fall under a creative commons license.

• If a photo falls under a Creative Commons license, that means the copyright owner has authorized some types of free usage rights subject to certain requirements. In some cases, these images can be used for free and commercially, depending on the type of creative commons license.

While this is by no means a complete explanation of copyright usage, it should give you a great starting point so that you aren’t walking the path blindly.

One final tip: If you are unsure if you are infringing on a copyright or not, contacting the photographer or your advertising agency is a good first step, followed by asking someone who works specifically with Intellectual Property laws.