There's no legal problem using an image off the internet for your little blog, is there? After all, you're not profiting from the blog, so how is that harming the copyright holder, especially if it's a photo that a lot of others have used as well?
Well, it can be problem if you end up in the sights of a company called Righthaven.
A New York Times article goes into the story in detail, but here's how they summarise what happens: "Righthaven finds newspaper material that has been republished on the Web — usually an article, excerpts or a photograph — and obtains the copyrights. Then, the company sues. Whether the defendant credits the original author or removes the material after being sued matters little. None of the cases have gone to trial yet, and many have been settled out of court. In two instances, judges have ruled against Righthaven in pretrial motions. According to The Las Vegas Sun, which has tracked the cases, the only two publicly disclosed settlements were for $2,185 and $5,000."
They're not going after just big fish, either. They've sued one-person blogs. They offered to settle with a blogger who is living on disability checks--if he paid them $6000 for using a photo of an airport security officer doing a pat-down search. When his situation was publicised they dropped that suit but said it won't stop them from suing others.
Is this a shakedown operation? I couldn't possibly comment.
There are lots of legal experts who say that because reposting material usually doesn't diminish its value, it could qualify as "fair use." Last month a federal judge criticised Righthaven for their tactics; it may be that the national attention will cause them to change their ways. In the meantime, it's better to stick to images to which you have the rights.
On my blog, most of the images come from a service at www.clipart.com. I pay them about $150 per year for online use of illustrations and photos (these are low-resolution images that work fine on the web; if you want higher-resolution versions for printed matter that will cost extra). I'm not getting a commission, it's just the most reasonable site I've found that offers a big choice of images.
If you are threatened with a lawsuit, don't panic and don't pay, at least not until you've taken legal advice. Some of the bloggers sued by Righthaven have found pro bono lawyers to defend them.
