Keli Wright on Copyright

I’m really not presenting a long discourse on copyright law. I was just amused that the “Right” issue I addressed in my first post arises so often in my life. What I am going to do here is share a blog post I was turned on to by Jan Morrill, comment a bit, and share some other links I found helpful as I studied the issue a little more deeply. (Is this way too much like grade school: “My report is on…” Oh, well. Onward.)

The original post recounts a personal experience of author/blogger Roni Loren concerning her own unintentional copyright infringement which, in her case, involved photo usage on her blog. I think it took courage and humility for her to lay this all out and accept responsibility for it, but the information I gathered about how to avoid the situation was the real prize in the piece. I gleaned a few links I thought I’d share in case you don’t have the time to comb through the nearly 400 comments yourself. Before we get to that, however, a little business–

Disclaimer: I’m no lawyer nor in any way an expert on copyright issues. This post is not to be construed in any way as legal advice. It simply presents some tools that may be useful in staying on the right side of copyright, particularly in the usage of photos on blogs.

Meghan Ward shares some pertinent information on her Writerland blog, including a nice guide to the Creative Commons logos and codes, and info on stock photography available for purchase.

Try out some of these sites for free photos. Just make sure you pay close attention to usage restrictions and attribution requirements. They aren’t all the same, and this is where a lot of the confusion about copyright comes from. Some of these sites have images for sale as well, so be aware of which are really free (and royalty-free does not mean free).

• flickr
• freedigitalphotos.net
• morgueFile
• Wikimedia Commons
• Dreamstime

While I won’t get into a big discussion about copyright, the following links may be useful to increase general knowledge of the subject. This applies to all creative endeavor, not just photography, so it is important stuff to understand for writers, artists, and musicians as well.

• Creative Commons (also helpful in finding useable photos)
• Teaching Copyright has a simple copyright glossary and a fabulous resources section.

Unfortunately, the discussion on Roni’s blog included some nastiness and unnecessary recriminations so she had to shut it down.  I didn’t get a chance to comment, and perhaps I wouldn’t have anyway, but I did comment on Jan’s blog and I thought I would share that here. “Incidentally, I don’t think it’s copyright that confuses, but the exceptions and different types of rights. We all get that you don’t claim another’s work, but I think there’s a difference between plagiarism and copyright infringement, and the usage area can get murky, especially on the internet. There is also a difference between understanding the principles involved and having the knowledge necessary to apply those principles.” My intent with this post was to present resources that may impart a little of that knowledge.

As I mentioned, I’m not an expert. Any further information, tips, and warnings would be most welcome, and it doesn’t have to be limited to photo usage. (Does anyone else think it’s hilarious that I’m so nervous about the issue now I’m afraid to attach any form of image to this post?)