Blog: Image Copyrights: Are You in Compliance?

Blog: Image Copyrights: Are You in Compliance?

image copyrights Copyright infringement. Licensing rules. Fair usage.

Most of the time, we don’t think about the use of audio or video we find on the web. Sure, those of us in the multimedia communications industry may have heard about how X company got in trouble for not properly giving credit for a video clip or how Y company was sued over not getting the proper licenses for music underneath their commercials.

But images? There are thousands of images on the web. Aren’t those fair game?

Recently we were forwarded the following email asking if this was a legitimate email or just a scam (names and web addresses have been changed):

Mr. Smith, My name is Jane Doe.

I represent the Company XYZ License Compliance Team. It has been brought to my attention that images represented by Company XYZ have been used on the following website: www.yourwebsite.com

I am unable to find a license on record for these particular images.

Can you please verify that a license surrounding the specific use of the images in question exists? If so, please provide an invoice number or sales order number and we will research as appropriate.

If proof of license cannot be provided, we will need to determine how long the image has been on your site and then negotiate a settlement for unauthorized use of this image.

Sincerely,
Jane Doe
License Compliance Specialist

No, this isn’t a another fraud email that shows up on Snopes from a spammer trying to extract money to Nigeria. This is a real compliance letter that is sent from a real company who sells real images online.

While we are not attorneys, we have outlined some best practices we’ve put in place with our client partners to help prevent them from receiving letters like the one above.

Steps to Compliance

Here are simple guidelines to ensure that your internal practices are not robbing a starving artist seeking to get paid for his quality work and putting you at risk:

  1. Never use images directly from image search engines (such as Google Images) without first securing permission from the image owners.
    1. Permission must come in the form of a written document, signed and dated by the owner, providing specific instructions for the licensing and usage of the images.
    2. It should also clearly contain the terms—how long the license/usage is good for—in the documentation as well.
  2. Use stock photography from quality sources. Some of our favorites include:
  3. Keep a paper-trail for the purchase of any images used on your website.
  4. Retain ownership of your images.
    1. If an outside company designs your website or media applications, make sure that the ownership of the imagery belongs to you.
  5. Use a qualified photographer if you need something really unique.
    1. Take your own photos or hire a professional photographer for getting just what you want.
    2. Remember that if you use a professional photographer, the licensing belongs to the person who took the image, so always get written permission or see if providing written credit for the usage will be enough.

Following these simple guidelines can help protect you from ever receiving the letter above—or if you do receive one, you will be able to demonstrate a clear paper trail to help prove that you did purchase the images legally.

Royalty Free vs. Rights Managed

Stock images also come with a Royalty Free (RF) or Rights Managed (RM) designation.

According to the American Society of Media Photographers, royalty-free images are licensed for you to use multiple times in any circumstance without incurring additional fees. The benefit is you can get high-quality images to use for your media without extra expense. The downside is that since they have a much larger appeal and overall wider usage, it’s likely that an image you select has already been used by other people/companies. Also important to note here is that these rights are not transferrable so just because you are using a royalty-free image doesn’t mean you can pass it to a friend for them to use without going through the proper purchase channels.

Rights-managed images, on the other hand, are licensed based on strict and exclusive usage. While more expensive and requiring a clear outline of how and where these images are being used, if you want to ensure that no one else can use a particular image for their branding, then this is the right licensing option for you.

What If I’m Not Doing This

If you haven’t been following these guidelines, you need to review the images on your website or media property immediately, and confirm that the images used are not violating copyright. Watch for images that you may have used from other websites—especially ones that originated from a for-pay stock photography source. You should remove or get permission for these photos immediately.

Want More Info?

If you would like more information on image copyright and licensing issues, here are some sources that we’ve found helpful:

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