Well, you might be thinking that no one in this world has time to figure out who is using their images without permission on a blog or a website. Yes no one has that much time but there are many people who just deal with Copyrights Issues and you can find yourself with a notice if you use a copyrighted image.

1) Did you understand the term Fair Use ?

Just because you have given credits or a link back to the original image doesn’t mean you are clean and free.  Fair use has nothing to do with giving credits or attribution. It is very different from copyrights. It is actually an issue related to plagiarism.

What does Fair Use mean ? 

Fair Use generally means that you are not at all allowed to use someone’s copyrighted image and if you use it they can do anything about it. If the image you are using is covered by attribution then you don’t need to give attribution. ( just don’t use that image )

2) Why are you using the image?

If you are using the image for purposes such as comment, criticism, teaching( for school/university use), news reporting scholarship, or research then you are going on the right track but if you are using the image to pretty up your blog or website then don’t forget to buy a stock image or get permission or else be ready to get a notice for copyrights case.

3) Have you transformed the image?

Well if you are thinking that you can edit an existing image and no one would get to know about it then you are wrong, you can find yourself in an exception to copyright infringement. Kindly read the copyrights Acts before photoshopping the image.

4) How much of the image are you using?

If you are using the thumbnail image and linking back to the original image then their are very high chances of you getting in trouble with Fair Use of image case.

For example if you are using only half image of facial features then you can argue against the case of Fair Use because you have used only a part of it and not the entire image.

5) Do you want to risk your site being taken down ?

For using a Copyrighted Image you can get a DMCA/bill/desist or you can get sued ? Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) has given a very powerful option of copyrights to the owner of original image to protect their work on the entire digital world.

By using a copyrighted image and publishing it on your blog or website you are digging your own grave !!

Cover Image Source :- Autostream blog