Copyrighted Material

[sakabato]

I noticed that you can't post copyrighted stuff. But, is it okay to post a image to get your point across? (As long as it isn't porn or the like, naturally)

 

[garrettroyce]

You really can't just do whatever you want with anyone's copyrighted work. Make sure you don't hotlink, ask the owner if it's OK, and give the owner credit for his/her work.

Consider reading this helpful, albeit very boring article, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_use

 

[adamparkzer]

I noticed that you can't post copyrighted stuff. But, is it okay to post a image to get your point across? (As long as it isn't porn or the like, naturally)

The only reason I would see to post images to get your point across on these forums is when you're giving or requesting help. In that situation, I suggest you take your own screen shots, host them on your own hosting account or a public image hosting service, and avoid including registered/copyrighted logos.

 

[sakabato]

The only reason I would see to post images to get your point across on these forums is when you're giving or requesting help. In that situation, I suggest you take your own screen shots, host them on your own hosting account or a public image hosting service, and avoid including registered/copyrighted logos.

Meant like on my website, but that that helps too.

I was curious because I might compare different characters art styles in something I may write on my site. And the pics would help, if there wasn't those rules involving copyrighted work.

 

[jtwhite]

You could always look for things licensed under Creative Commons.

http://creativecommons.org

 

[jmcgowan]

I hate to say it, but you answer your own question. "I noticed that you can't post copyrighted stuff..." If you see an image on another website, or in a magazine / comic / newspaper, the automatic assumption is that those images are copyrighted to the owner of that medium. Outside of images that are clearly marked as 'public domain' or 'creative commons' as mentioned above, you would have to contact the appropriate person and ask their permission.

I faced a similar situation with my website. I wanted to use a very particular type of image for my index page to give an immediate impression of what the site is about. Being the terrible photographer that I am, I knew that I wouldn't be able to make the image myself, so I did a Google Image search for the type of picture that I wanted and then had to find one that was free to use. Speaking of, if you go to images.google.com and click on advanced options, there is an option to search only for images that are believed to be under the creative commons license, however even they will admit that it's not perfect and you have to verify the image's status for yourself before you use it.

 

[getyourshirt]

The first rule for the use of images is "always ask to make sure". Read the terms of use. Again if you not sure or don't understand the terms of use...ask. A short friendly mail usually doesn't hurt and you will probably get an answer.

You also can try to find public domain images. there are several sites out there with photos, cliparts which are in the public domain and therefore free of rights.

one place to go for example would be http://commons.wikimedia.org (always read the license information for each image.)

http://www.aboutpixel.de is a german website with photos you can freely use for your website, but you are not allowed to sell the images itself or connected with a product like a mug or a t-shirt.

There are tons of websites out there where you can find images for your website without breaking copyright law.

 

[sakabato]

It's funny that I asked this question, because I can't seem to get the images to work right. I'm making it with HTML, and I can't seem to make the image show.
And I was sure a google snap shot would have been legal too.
Thanks guys.

 

[jmcgowan]

again, if the google snapshot is of a copyrighted image then the image is still copyrighted. Technically I'm pretty sure someone could write in to google to have particular images removed from their search engine. Also, keep in mind that google is not really known for respecting privacy/copyrights. They got in trouble with Google Earth's employees taking pictures of people's private property for their 'street level view' feature.

 

[sakabato]

I see, I have it now with tinypic, and it was just a google shopping search with DVRs(obtained with scr print). And let me guess, this could get me in trouble somehow as well?