Using web images on my blogsite

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• March 15, 2006 @ 7:36pmmilsirhc says:

  Hi,
  
  I would like to enquire whether will i violate any copyright law if I were to use images on the web for my own blog site? Any pictures that I've used will be clearly stated from their original source.
  
  For instance:
  
  Image by [source]
  
  Or is there a standard format? Kindly guide me.
  
  
  Thanks,
  David
• March 16, 2006 @ 1:41pmbobri says:

  I have a related question - how about using images on a school website? So far, I've assumed that I can only use those images that are specifically made available for free use or are in the public domain. Would it be fair use to use any image on a school website?
  
  Thanks!
  
  Barb
  
  [quote]Hi,
  
  I would like to enquire whether will i violate any copyright law if I were to use images on the web for my own blog site? Any pictures that I've used will be clearly stated from their original source.
  
  For instance:
  
  Image by [source]
  
  Or is there a standard format? Kindly guide me.
  
  
  Thanks,
  David[/quote]
• March 16, 2006 @ 3:25pmCOvalle says:

  Both of these questions will probably rely on the context of the situation.
  
  Images on the web are likely protected by copyright. You are potentially infringing on copyright if you use images you find online on your own site. There are some exceptions. Images in the public domain, for example, are free for use. Giving a person credit for the images, or saying where you got the image from, does not automatically protect you from infringement. There are some exceptions. An image that is licensed with a Creative Commons Attribution license, for example, only requires that you give them attribution. In that case, you can use the image if you give credit. For something without a license like that, you'll have to rely on fair use or another copyright exemption. This holds true for the school website or for a blog.
  
  You can't make a generalization that says, "in every situation, using an image I find on the web is a fair use." You have to perform a fair use evaluation each time you want to use an image. You'll need to look at the four factors of fair use:
  
  1) Purpose of the use.
  2) Nature of the work.
  3) Amount you are using.
  4) Effect on the market for the work.
  
  Georgia Harper's site for the University of Texas System has a good explanation of this type of evaluation.
  http://www.utsystem.edu/OGC/intellectualProperty/copypol2.htm
  
  You can read the whole thing, although it primarily deals with educational use, or skip down to "Using the Four Factor Fair Use Test," which is informative for any audience. "First Steps," above that section, may also be useful.

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