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RE: STOCK PHOTOGRAPHY – Do I have the right to use it on Steemit?
I read you can use royalty free images, which I believe is the same as stock photography
I read you can use royalty free images, which I believe is the same as stock photography
NO, @lymorgan.Royaly Free does not mean free* it means that once you purchase a license you have unlimited use of the image with certain restrictions, some of which include - no porn, no claiming the image as your own, no reselling the standalone image, no monetary benefit from a blog post etc. etc.
If you purchase the license, you are bound by the usage. Even if you purchase the image, and use it in a a manner that is not allowed, you're in violation of copyright laws. I have both RF and RM images available. If you do happen to use an RM image, that could mean big trouble, because RM means the image is RIGHTS MANAGED and the agency is keeping track of all uses for the image. With RF, they don't keep track of actual usage; they just keep track of the user, and can find out if the image is being used improperly. The reason they have RM is that they don't want two rival companies using the same stock image, as that could lead to big trouble.
One of the book publishers who purchased an RM license of an image of mine for a book cover once paid for the RIGHT to have the image on the book cover and that RIGHT only, but they went ahead and used the image throughout the book without paying for that license. It was probably a mistake by a newbie designer at the company, and they were good clients of Getty, so they worked out something pretty fair with us in in the end!
RECAP : Royalty Free does not mean Free!
Thank you for shedding light on this issue. It's so confusing for so many people, myself included. Your post did a great job of clarifying things and will probably spare people a lot of hassles in the future.
Thank you. Yes, I see a lot of people linking to where they found something on the web, believing that to be the source. Unless it is a photo gallery, stock agency, free photo site or private photographer's collection, it is not the source!Just because someone else used an image (legally or illegally) does not give them the copyright. It is especially true of images with quotes on them. Unless clearly stated, they have no rights to the copyright of that image!
Companies like Hallmark etc. purchase rights to sell products with the images and claim copyright of the product,but they never have rights to the original image.
Hope that helps. I hope to provide a lot of information in small pieces that people can digest. The agencies use web crawlers that crawl the web to find where images are being used. Because Steemit is for profit, it's more important that we are especially vigilant.
Very helpful, thank you so much.
You are welcome. I'm glad you found it useful.
Thanks for your response, I will try to research the images that I use in the future! God Bless You....
God bless you too. It is far better to be safe than sorry later!