Friday 6 September 2013

Copyright - for bloggers

Writers who blog: I do hope you aren't using photos that you don't have the rights to use. "Royalty-free" does not mean you can use them - you have to pay for a licence and then you can use them according to the terms of the licence. "Royalty-free" means simply that the cost is not based on how many times your blog etc is viewed. It usually costs very little to buy the rights to use a photo. Or you can take one yourself for nothing. Writers and artists have the same earnings model, based on respect and the law. I'm really concerned about writers not realising what their responsibilities are. *steps off soap-box*

7 comments:

Philip C James said...

Did you pay for that soapbox? Or was it liberated from the unloading yard of your local supermarket? ;)

Agree completely with what you say :)

Nicola Morgan said...

Made it with me own fair 'ands, Philip. Honest, guv!

DT said...

Republics are royalty free too.

Nicola Morgan said...

And are similarly not free...

JO said...

Not guilty on that score. I had my camera stolen in Laos, but have attributed every single photo others have taken that I've used. Why wouldn't I? They've come to my rescue, the least I can do is let people know about it.

But I suspect there are some who don't realise there are copyright issues with words and pictures on the internet, so your soapbox is much needed.

Phil Parker said...

That's why I prefer to make my own pictures for my blogs. It avoids so much copyright worry.

Having said that, if you use the advanced search in Flickr, it's possible to find Creative Commons licenced photos that you can use as long as they are attributed. I see quite a lot of traffic this way on my pictures.

Margaret Morton Kirk said...

I take my own ones too. I've only used someone else's once, and then I emailed the photographer and asked permission, which he was happy to grant - do I get a gold star?