This is a presentation I gave at an event for librarians in London in July 2014. The presentation covers use of images in blogging and on websites, and how to avoid copyright pitfalls by using Creative Commons licensed works etc. There are lots of links to best practice, templates and where to find CC licensed material.

1. © University of Reading 2008 www.reading.ac.uk29 July 2014
Image use on the Web
How to stay out of trouble

2. Overview
• Copyright issues around use of images
• How images can be used lawfully
• Where you can find images to use
• Attributing/crediting images
• Other legal issues for bloggers
• What about my own content?
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3. 3
TRUE OR FALSE?
Having a disclaimer on your site can protect you from claims of
copyright infringement
Copyright does not protect original ideas
‘All Rights Reserved’ means you can’t use a work without permission
unless an exception applies
If you’re not making any money from the copy, it‘s ok
Everything is fine as long as the original work is acknowledged
You can legally copy up to 10% of any work
hgfhghhgdgdfgdfgdgdfgdfgd
gdgdfgdgdgdgd
© ‘Copyright Symbols’ by MikeBlogs CC-BY-NC
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikeblogs/3020135605/

4. 4
Kari DePhillips, The Content Factory http://www.contentfac.com/copyright-infringement-penalties-are-scary
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130615/02094123486/copyright-trolls-now-going-after-random-bloggers-who-reposted-photos.shtml
http://www.cnet.com/uk/news/facebook-shutters-the-cool-hunter-for-copyright-issues/
http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/tumblr-erases-popular-
blogger-copyright-infringement-blogging-fea

5. How are infringements
discovered?
• Many images from web pages are invisibly 'tagged', enabling
their source to be traced
• Image tracking software
• Search engines use image recognition
software to find images on the Web
• Licensed content often tracked by
sophisticated software
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6. How can you use
copyright material?
Make use of one of the permitted acts
as outlined in UK copyright law
Ask for permission to use from the
copyright owner
Buy a licence from the copyright owner
(or an organisation acting on their behalf)
Make use of material which is in the
public domain (e.g. out of copyright) or
where the owner has given a Creative
Commons or similar free licence

7. Permitted Acts
Fair dealing for Criticism & Review*
*possibly going to change
Not without its risks:
It is a DEFENCE to a claim of
infringement, not an exception
If you are copying/publishing works using this defence,
everything you use must be correctly referenced

8. Playing it safe:
requesting permission
Permission must always be in writing
(letter/email)
Acquiring permission may take time
(especially if you are seeking it from
publishers)
Keep all letters / emails giving you permissio
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No response does not equal permission!

9. Useful resources when
seeking permission
Web2Rights toolkit: useful PDF giving advice on
seeking copyright permission:
http://www.web2rights.org.uk/navigator/content/docume
nts/2.3_Getting_Permissions_v1.1.pdf
University of Reading website: template for
requesting permission from copyright holders:
http://www.reading.ac.uk/internal/imps/Copyright/imps-
requesting_permissions_1.aspx

10. Stock Image Galleries
Images will always be licensed
Make sure that you are allowed to use the image in the way
you want to before you buy it
Many digital image galleries have embedded information in
their images: a team of lawyers works non-stop to send
invoices to people who use their images without a licence
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Photo by penmachine, available under a Creative
Commons Attribution-Noncommercial licence

11. That being said…
Terms:
• Only for non-commercial purposes (relating to events that are
newsworthy or of public interest)
• Not to be used for advertising/marketing/promotions or to suggest
endorsement
http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/creative/frontdoor/embed 11

12. Creative Commons Licences
• Attribution (BY): Licensees may copy, distribute, display and perform the
work and make derivative works based on it only if they give the author or
licensor credit
• Noncommercial (NC): Licensees may copy, distribute, display, and
perform the work and make derivative works based on it only for non-
commercial use
• No Derivative Works (ND): Licensees may copy, distribute, display and
perform only verbatim copies of the work
• Sharealike (SA): Derivative works must be under a licence identical to
that of the original work
http://creativecommons.org

13. Where to find images to use
CC licensed material can be found via Google, Yahoo! and Flickr’s
Advanced Search tab
SitePoint – text, audio, video and images
http://www.sitepoint.com/30-creative-commons-sources/
JISC Digital Media: some information on finding sources of
audiovisual material to use:
http://www.jiscdigitalmedia.ac.uk/finding
Getty Images for Embedding (for non-commercial uses/sites only):
http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/creative/frontdoor/embed

14. Attribution
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Saying "Credit: Google Images"
is like saying
"Credit: Someone on Earth“
The Flying Trilobite, ‘5 steps to proper image use on blogs’, 2011
http://glendonmellow.blogspot.ca/2011/01/5-steps-to-proper-image-
use-on-blogs.html

15. How to credit CC licensed material
Xpert Attribution tool*
http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/xpert/
Code generator for crediting Flickr images online
(make sure you have the link to the photo you want to use first)
http://imagecodr.org/result.php
Quick useful slideshow: “What is the correct way to attribute?”
http://www.slideshare.net/eabarbanel/creative-commons-attribution-3228503
Useful Infographic:
http://foter.com/blog/how-to-attribute-creative-commons-photos/
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An example of attributing a CC licensed image using Xpert
Attribution Tool (developed by Nottingham University)

16. Crediting non-CC licensed content
Some publishers will specify how you should credit , e.g.:
© Timothy Dudley-Smith (b.1926) in Europe and Africa (Oxford University Press).
Reproduced under CCLI Church Copyright Licence no. 305687. All rights reserved.
If you are dealing with individuals, they may authorise you to use
their image but not specify a credit, in which case you could put
something like this:
There is no standard form of words, but you should always
reference the author and try to mention the source wherever
possible
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© Erving Newton (Denmead Man). Used with permission. Photograph: All Saints
Church, Denmead. http://www.flickr.com/photos/vamoose627/2728122799/

17. What NOT to do
Find an image via Google’s search function and use the
credit: ‘Google Images’
Use an image with a watermark
Use CC licensed material without attributing the author
A useful guide on referencing images in your blogs and
on your websites:
http://hubpages.com/learningcenter/legal-image-use
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18. What’s the worst that can happen?
• Damage to reputation
• Financial costs (including legal)
• Court case
• Loss of custom
• Loss of faith in brand
• Loss of investment
Most copyright infringement is likely to
be a civil rather than a criminal offence

19. Practical Tools to Manage Risk
Terms and Conditions
Web Disclaimer*
Notice & Takedown Policy
Complaints Procedure
Social Media Policy / Guidelines
User Education

20. If you receive a notice of infringement...
– Don’t do nothing!
– Get claim substantiated
– Apologise
– Rapid take down procedure
– Credit/payment of royalties
– Professional Indemnity Insurance?

21. What about my own photos?
Copyright in photographs you take is always yours (unless
taking photographs as part of your employment)
You will need written consent from the individuals if using
images for marketing purposes where one or two individuals
are the focus of the photograph
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22. Checklist
• Where is the image from?
• Who owns the image?
• Is there a licence
associated with it?
• How do you intend to use
the image?
• What is the subject of the
photograph?
• Are there any conditions set out
by the place where you took the
picture?
• How do you intend to use the
image?
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Others’ images Your images

23. Protecting your own works
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24. 24
If you discover an infringement…
• Contact them directly, politely requesting removal
• Contact the web host or advertisers on the site
• Take legal action (but this may be expensive)
Or you could just make
your blog available
under a Creative
Commons licence…

25. Other legal issues to consider
Defamation (libel)
Causing substantial harm to another person (e.g. damage to
reputation, exposing them to hatred, ridicule or contempt)
Defences:
• If you can prove that what you’ve written is true
• If it was ‘fair comment’ – honestly held opinion on
established facts
Contempt of Court / breaking court orders
(e.g. publishing information when there is an injunction in
place to prevent it)
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26. Final Thoughts
Where possible, use material which is your own / public
domain / licensed, or seek permission!
Make use of content under an exception or defence to
copyright (but be aware that this carries risks)
There is no right or wrong way to attribute as long as you
have included the author/creator’s name and a reference
to the source

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Source: Charles Apple
American Copy Editors Society
http://www.charlesapple.com/2012/11/why-you-should-
never-ever-steal-an-image-off-the-internet/
Billboard in Coimbatore,
India, paying tribute to
Nelson Mandela

28. 28
Snowflake from
Disney
South African
Newspaper
illustrating rare
snowfall with cute
snowflakes
http://www.charlesapple.com/2012/11/why-you-
should-never-ever-steal-an-image-off-the-internet/

29. 29
KUSA Channel 9 news in
Denver 2012 running
story about the
summer games
/
http://www.charlesapple.com/2012/11/
why-you-should-never-ever-steal-an-
image-off-the-internet

30. 30
In May 2011, German
news TV channel N24
ran a story about Seal
Team Six, which had
taken out Osama bin
Laden.
http://www.charlesapple.com/2012/11/
why-you-should-never-ever-steal-an-
image-off-the-internet

31. Some useful resources
Book: Charles Oppenheim (2012) The No-Nonsense Guide to
Legal Issues in Web 2.0 and Cloud Computing
BBC Click article (2014) : How to protect the photos you post
online http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-26447317
(lots of good links to web applications)
BBC article (Feb 2013): Twitter users: a guide to the law
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20782257
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32. Other useful resources
• Web2Rights toolkit
– Customisable templates / licences
– Informed risk management
– Useful for library / information / knowledge managers
and policy makers
– www.web2rights.org.uk
• JISC Digital Media / JISC Legal
– Primarily education but good advice on legal issues of
digital media including storage, images, sound and film
– www.jiscdigitalmedia.ac.uk
– http://www.jisclegal.ac.uk

33. Thanks for listening!
Emily Stannard
emily.goodhand@googlemail.com
On Twitter: @copyrightgirl
Blog: Copyright For Education
http://copyright4education.blogspot.co.uk
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