What You REALLY Need to Know About Photos and Copyright

By Susan and Willian Brinson. Photography by Willian Brinson for The House of Brinson.

Three years ago, when I first started blogging, I recall telling my seasoned blogging friend (in a horrified tone of voice), "Can you believe someone just took one of our pictures and used it on their blog?!?!??" She responded with, "Yeah, so?" I couldn't wrap my head around how that was possible and why someone would do that!

Let me explain: I come from the advertising world, where we would never in a million years consider using a photograph without written permission, not to mention purchasing it. When we do use a photo we have to make sure the photograph is used within the correct licensing type for the project. When you add in the reality that I am married to a photographer, you can see why I was really confused when someone used our picture without asking.

After becoming involved in the blogging community and speaking with bloggers, I realized many bloggers don't understand copyright law. Ignorance of copyright law isn't going to prevent a blogger from being sued for using images that they didn't have permission to use. The information we are going to cover in our upcoming class is critical for bloggers who use photographs they did not take, and for those bloggers producing original photographs. My worst fear is hearing about a blogger being sued and saying, "I wish I would have known that."

The blogging world is changing quickly and competing with traditional media outlets. Copyright law is something critical for all bloggers to know, especially with the increased popularity of blogs. Some of the areas you need to research before using photos you do not own are:

• what is protected by copyright law
• what are the different type of licensing rights for photographs
• get to know the photography industry inside and out
• developing a photography usage policy for your blog
• know where the future of photo usage on blogs is going

We will be looking at real life examples of all the issues above. We will discuss some of our own adventures and take questions on March 14 during What You Really Need to Know about Photos and Copyright on the Alt Channel.

Comments

[anne]

Thank you so much for writing about this. I have a TON of questions, and recently witnessed a major blogging get into some major trouble with a photographer for not properly asking permission for using his work. Can't wait for the class!