copyright internet photography
Downloading an image from wallofcelebrities.com
<p>Is <a href="https://www.wallofcelebrities.com/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Wallofcelebrities</a> a legal place to download images from? </p>

<p>I would like to get one of Kayla Compton, but I'm not sure if these photos are being illegally distributed. </p>

<p>That depends on the image. If the person who created it, or who holds the copyright, or a license to distribute the image, uploaded it with the intent that others should be able to download it, then it is legal to do so. </p>

<p>On the other hand if the person who uploaded it was not authorized to do so, and had no rights to the image in the first place, then the uploader could not validly grant any rights to anyone, because the uploader had no rights to grant (you can't sell what you don't own). In that case simply downloading would be a copyright infringement, although the copyright holder might well not try to sue people who downloaded the image for personal use believing in good faith that the upload was authorized.</p>

<p>Evn if the upload was authorized, it may noit have authorized anyone to make additional copies, to modify the image, or to pass copies along to others. Unless, of course, the image was posted with a license that grants those permissions. </p>

<p>The site on which an image is posted really makes very little difference, except that the site's reputation. If the image is posted on "Copyvios-R-us" one might not trust any assurances that it is legal without checking. If it is posted on "SterlingSite" one might more reasonably trust any claims as to authorization and rights granted. But the question always is, was the person who uploaded the image the copyright holder, or authorized by the holder, and what rights, if any,  are granted to possible re-users.  Note that if an image is posted with no license statement and no mention of any grant of rights, one should treat that as "all rights reserved". Posting by an authorized person allows amnyone to view it lawfully, and possibly to download a copy for personal off-line viewing, but nothing more unless more is explicitly granted. </p>
