If you’ve ever shared someone else’s photo on your company’s blog without verifying if it was allowed, you may have engaged in image theft. Many individuals mistakenly believe that anything they find online is free to use simply because it’s available for viewing. Unfortunately, that’s not true—amateur photographers also hold rights to their images, and if the photos were taken after 1978, those rights last for their lifetime plus 70 years. So, how can you prevent unintentional theft in your business?
Nearly 65% of professional photographers have had their work stolen more than 200 times, and 44% of amateur photographers say the same. Almost half of the people who steal images are bloggers and social media users, often unaware of copyright laws. Even more surprising, 28% of the time, the thieves are commercial businesses, and 72% of the time, the stolen images are modified for advertising.
In the United States, ALL original work is protected by copyright law. Owners have exclusive rights to reproduce the work, display the work, change the work or base other work on previous work, and most importantly make money off the work. These laws automatically attach upon creation of any work, whether it is published or unpublished, registered or unregistered.
If you need a photograph for your company’s blog or advertising campaign, you would do best to take the photograph yourself. If that is not a possibility, look for something that is in the Public Domain. All work published before 1923 is in the public domain. Work published between 1922 and 1978 is protected for 95 years from the date of first publication. Work created after 1978 is protected for the life of the creator plus 70 years.
Learn more about online image theft from this infographic so your company doesn’t accidentally end up stealing from photographers.
Infographic Source: Berify