Copyright infringement question re online image?
963601
Advice: Get an attorney.\nThis really depends upon any contract he had with the website developer.  There could be an argument that, in absence of a "work for hire" agreement, that the webdesigner owns the copyright on the website, and your friend's business shouldn't be sued.  Certainly, there's an argument that the web designer has to indemnify your friend (i.e. pay for any damages) for his own intentional actions -- like copyright infringement.\n(P.S. an image does not necessarily have to have a copyright imprint on it to be copyrighted.  This may raise the issue of "innocent" infringement, which may lower statutory damages, but probably will not change the analysis much in this instance, where there is a definite market for the images.)  \nSo, have your friend get a lawyer; and if he cannot get a lawyer by December 1, have him write back and say that he is in the process of getting an attorney who will get back to him by _____. Although attorneys often send demand letters with fast deadlines, they usually (read: USUALLY) do not take further legal action right away if they receive some response (because it's always cheaper to settle these issues than it is to file suit and litigate).\nIf your friend cannot afford an attorney, just make sure he keeps in contact with the other side. These sorts of disputes are rarely settled for the first demand.  (Your friend can consider a counteroffer based on the use of the image, or agree to pay a much smaller license fee and remove the image, for example.) Your friend also needs to forward this to the web designer to put him on notice that the web designer may be on the hook to indemnify for these damages.\nGet an attorney.
141082
Online security and copyright infringement
165723
Unless an original creation or in the public domain, I think you can pretty much assume everything is copyrighted, such as images from web pages, books, movies, tv shows, team logos, cartoons characters, board and video games, celebrities, bands, etc. etc.  \n\nYou can check the copyright of specific images at the source of the publicication of the original image. \n\nIt might just be easier to search out resources for public domain images, and here's a good one from Wikipedia to start with:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain_image_resources
35542
it depends on the particular picture.  if the picture is in the "public domain" then you are free to  duplicate it and use it as you wish.  typically copyrighted work enters the public domain 50 years or so after the creator's death, so most public-domain stuff is old.  images of the mona lisa, for instance, are public domain.\n\nsome copyrighted works lately have been distributed under some special licenses - for instance, the "creative commons license" allows for mostly free use, but i think you have to credit the creator.\n\nmost of the time if you want to use a copyrighted image, you have to contact the creator of the image and ask for their permission to use it.\n\nthere is an exemption to copyright law in the united states called the "fair use" doctrine which applies mostly to educational use.  if your blog is part of an educational project, you may be able to use it legally.\n\nif none of these special cases apply, you are probably in violation of copyright law.  however, odds are that nobody's going to care or even notice.  this kind of thing happens all the time on the internet since digital files can be copied so easily.  however, it's been known to happen - lots of owners of disney fan-sites have received cease & desist letters from disney's lawyers for displaying images of mickey mouse, for instance.  (no kidding)\n\nthe one thing you definitely shouldn't do is link to the image on someone else's site.  this is especially true if your blog is high-traffic, since every visitor to your site downloads the image from some other poor schmuck's web server.  most people pay for internet hosting by the gigabyte, which means you are costing someone money if you do this.  so don't.  it's mean.
540826
As long as they're not trying to sell something using that misrepresented image, or profit from it in any way, I don't think it's illeagal.\n\nBut, if the image is copyrighted, then they can get into trouble without getting the permission from the people who owns the image.\n\nDepending on the state you're in, the law may not allow someone to use your image.  Some states may see that as them trying to steal your identity, which is illeagal.
880074
Good question.  Google believes that by performing their indexing and searches, they're making "fair use" of copyrighted images.  They have to acknowledge that by making a cached copy, they're technically violating copyright law.  Further, by making thumbnails, they're making "derivative works."  The question is whether they themselves are liable for infringement, or whether it's a fair use.  That's a sticky issue.\n\nIf your question is whether YOU can use images found on Google Images, the answer is that just because they're on Google Images, and perhaps Google has a fair use defense, it doesn't mean you will.\nIf the image is copyrighted, and you don't have permission to use the image, then you're in violation unless you also qualify for "fair use" defese or another copyright defense.  In determining fair use, a court looks at\n(1) The nature of the copyrighted work\n(2) The amount taken of the work\n(3) The nature of the copying work (educational report vs. commercial brochure, etc.)\n(4) The effect on the marketability of the underlying work.\n\nAfter balancing the court determines whether you're safe.  It's a balancing test, so it's extremely fact specific.
1086037
Yes, it would be illegal without their permission.\n\nYou need to contact their corporate offices and tell them what you want. They will either tell you no, or they will charge  you a licensing fee that authorizes you to use the images.
860197
Charge 1000 times as much as you would here. They'll only buy 1 copy & reverse engineer it. They don't respect copyrights and have a long history of infringement.
119464
For known copyright infringement, yes.
213238
Images that websites dont want you to copy usually have watermarks on them or are right click disabled, some sites have a lable on them, if they do find you with there picture you usually get a warrning asking you to take them off.
1186870
Obvious parody. If they don't get the hunour then they are wound too tight. Fair use says you can parody anyone's work without their permission. You aren't passing his work off as your own. What a bunch of dips**ts.
1037664
IF you own the rights to the images, ie you took them and they are yours. You will then need to find music from an unsigned artist, and get their permission to use their music ..
718596
No, but one work around is using a program like Paint Shop Pro which has a "screen capture" feature thus avoiding the copyright issue.
840941
Dood you better be carefull, those images are Copyrited. Get enough traffic and you be in court fast. Web aint what it use ta be, Apple,Microsoft and Metallica are to thank for that. \nLook at the DRM,WIPO then look at Creative Commons and FSF/GNU. \nYou are makeing a profit off of others property, thats is called Internet Piracy. \nIt sux, but thats the law now.
590218
1. Do not use Yahoo or Google!!!\n\nThose images are copyrighted.\n\n2. #1 site, no question is http://scx.hu\n\nFrom my blog: http://blog.procontentanddesign.com/?nav=articles&category=single&id=26
14220
Contact the ISP where the pictures are being hosted, and inform them that they have been posted without permission. This is usually enough to get their account yanked. Make it clear to them that if the images are made publically available ever again, every possible legal option will be persued. Make sure you keep the moral high ground at all times, so if this ever goes near court, it is an open and shut case which they will lose.
693983
nothing\n\nexcept for the copyright