How to Avoid Copyright Violations

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By shabam
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Avoid Copyright Violations

When we write articles on eHow, or for our websites, it is easy to just grab pictures off the web, but most pictures are copyrighted. Unless the artist releases the copyright, it is automatically copyrighted. If you use these copyrighted materials, the artist who owns them can sue you and you will have to pay them. It is best to avoid using materials you do not have the copyright permissions to use. Follow theses steps to keep yourself safe from copyright prosecution.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Step 1

You own the copyright on any pictures you take.

Take pictures. If you took the picture, you own the copyright. For most web work, you do not need to be a professional. It should be in focus, cropped and well exposed, but web pictures are low resolution, so just about any inexpensive camera will do a reasonable job.
Step 2

The Gimp is free and does a great job for most pictures.

Create an image. You don't need an expensive software package to make your own images. Photoshop is a great tool, but it is very expensive. Try The Gimp, it is free and does almost as good a job.
Step 3

Project Gutenberg is a great place for out of copyright books

Look in out of copyright books. In the US, this basically means it has to have been published prior to 1923. In other countries the copyright term is the live of the author plus 70 years. This can get tricky, but there are ways to do this. Project Gutenberg has thousands of books that are all out of copyright in the US. You can browse these for options. Project Gutenberg Australia has 1600 books that are out of copyright in Australia. Three are other Project Gutenberg sites for Canada and Europe as well.
Step 4

Search Creative Commons

Search the Creative Commons. The Creative Commons is a great place to search for works that the copyright holders give permission for you to use. Be sure to look at what copyright rules the copyright holder follows, it could be anything from "all rights reserves" to "no rights reserves". But you can limit your search results to those that meet your needs. If you are posting on anything that might make you money (such as eHow) then you need to make sure they allow commercial use, so check "Search for works I can use for commercial purposes."
Step 5

Copyright RyanDianna on Flickr

Ask. Some times the copyright holder will be happy to allow you permission to use their work, but you have to ask. Be sure to get it in writing to avoid a "but you said" battle in court.

Comments

Meri said

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on 1/15/2009 Great article. I have only had ONE person tell me I couldn't use their picture unless I paid a fee. Most of the time people are great to say, "Go ahead!"