pictures in blog

[paperclip-view]

may i put some pictures in my blog which i downloaded from google-images
is it good or not
do you put pictures?
i'm new to this all, so please give me some advice

thx

[RazorCookie]

Originally Posted by paperclip-view

may i put some pictures in my blog which i downloaded from google-images
is it good or not
do you put pictures?
i'm new to this all, so please give me some advice

thx

Use pictures but leave a copyright or watermark if there is one.

[richard.liso]

Legally, you are not allowed to use a picture that you don't have permission to use.
Leaving a link to the source of the image can be enough in most cases.
But if you want to be completely safe, you need to use images that you have permissions - For example, I purchase my images. It costs about 1$ per image. Try dreamstime for cheap ones, and there are many others. I also saw some free images sites, but they were not so useful.

[Melody]

The answer is "no".

Legally if you simply take a photo from google and use it, and you do NOT have permission to use it, that's a violation of copyright holder's rights in the photo.

It is true that if you use a photo and have a CLEAR and complete backlink to the source where you got it with a clear citation, and you're not earning money off the photo, most people won't get mad. Even if you backlink and cite, if the person who took the photo asks you to remove it, you must do so.

[RabidReptile]

I also agree that you shouldn't use Google images—at least, not without permission. If you find an image on a site that you would like to use, look for the copyright info (usually in the about page or the site footer) or contact them.

Like richard.liso said, you can buy images really cheap. Or if you don't want to spend any money, you can do a Google search for sites offering free images.

[paperclip-view]

thank you all what if I draw my own picture, may I put copyright symbol or I have to do some kind of registration for copyright? thx

[Melody]

Originally Posted by paperclip-view

thank you all what if I draw my own picture, may I put copyright symbol or I have to do some kind of registration for copyright? thx

That's a really complicated question. Trademark law and copyright law are very different from each other. Often what you are referring to are Trademarks.

Strictly speaking, you can't use others' trademarks. You can probably get away with a lot though. It's hard to explain but many corporations won't come after a trademark infringement unless you're earning money off it. But don't count that as legal advice and your question could be entire semester law course to get the right answers!

If you're looking for pics, eons ago a started a thread with links to free sites:

Are you looking for images for your posts?

^ Not totally sure if all those links still work but it might give you an idea of ways you can get some pictures for your blog.

[Melody]

Let me explain one more thing:

The creator of something usually holds a copyright. I take a photo. That makes me the copyright holder of the photo - You can't use it without my permission.

You draw your own art - then you have created your own thing, and then you are the copyright holder of YOUR drawing.

Can you use trademarks in your drawings, like the nike swoosh, the Pepsi red, white & blue circle, the apple apple, the Starbucks siren/mermaid? Technically no, but trademark law is different than copyright law, and trademark law has exceptions for "fair use" and most big companies won't come after you unless you're earning money from the trademark.

Again, that is not legal advice!!!

[paperclip-view]

melody thank you, very useful post especially this: "The creator of something usually holds a copyright. I take a photo. That makes me the copyright holder of the photo - You can't use it without my permission. You draw your own art - then you have created your own thing, and then you are the copyright holder of YOUR drawing. " thank you

[RabidReptile]

It's always good to give the author of an image credit. It's not hard. Most people add a link to the image caption or the bottom of the post. Easy.