What's the legal situation with regards to reproducing photographs on a web page. Am I at risk of being sued if someone should so choose for using photographs which I have blatantly copied from another site?
I think it's unlikely but I don't want to risk it. Anybody know?

-- Anonymous, April 05, 2000

Answers

Kegsy

Photos on the web are usually explicitly copyrighted in the same way in which content on web pages is; check out the copyright/legal stuff (usually linked at the bottom of the home page) to see.

-- Anonymous, April 05, 2000

Does that mean that if I quote where the photos have come from then I am allowed to use them or does that mean tht I can't use them at all?

-- Anonymous, April 05, 2000

If there's nothing explicitly saying you can't use them, quoting your sources does cover your butt a little. Generally assume anything you pull from a commercial web site is likely to be copyrighted. Personal sites are a little more lax. Also there are supposedly ways photos are watermarked so as to be traced if downloaded/used elsewhere. Not sure exactly how it works, however. And chances are slim anyone will come after you if your site is relatively unknown. Beyond that all that would happen is someone would request you remove their photo from your site, only going further if you refused or persisted in using copywrighted(is that a word?) material after a warning.

-- Anonymous, April 05, 2000

If the copyright owner isn't going to suffer financially or otherwise by the use of the pic, asking permission to use it shouldn't cause too may problems.

-- Anonymous, April 05, 2000