Copyright on the Internet: how to use someone else's content and protect your
Right A Life / / December 19, 2019
Copyright on the Internet: how to use someone else's content and protect your
Olga Borisenko
Expert on steep email-mailings, Russian author of the blog SendPulse.
What is copyright?
All pictures gifok, video, music and lyrics that you find on the Internet, is the author. The author automatically owns the rights to the object, and these rights are protected by law he created. This means that you can not just take a cool picture and paste it into your post or newsletter - it needs permission from the author.
Copyright is divided into two types: economic and moral. According to the author's moral rights to decide what to call your product and how to sign up for it, publish it or not. But we are more interested in a property right - to use this work for their own purposes, including for making money.
What you need to know about the commercial and non-commercial use of content?
If the material is in the advertising of goods, services or company - a commercial use. The same applies to the sites with paid subscriptions, where you pay for access to content, and groups in social networks, where there is advertising of products or listed prices. In this case it is better to either create your own text and illustrations, either formally to buy them. Everything is logical: the content is profitable, therefore, must be paid.
Non-commercial use - this is when the content does not make money. For example, if you make a newsletter with an overview best smartphones 2018, it is not commerce. And if you add to this list button "Buy", which lead to the store, then it is the promotion of products. Accordingly, commercial use.
When non-commercial use is a little easier. The stock photography a lot of images that can be used for noncommercial purposes. Many authors, especially lay people, are allowed to use their work, if you just specify authorship and give a link to their website.
What threatens copyright infringement?
If the author finds out that you have used it to work, then at least need to remove it from your resources, and may sue. Usually judged, if the content is used for commercial purposes. More often - with large companies.
Of course, the authors do not usually sorfyat on the internet for days in search of his stolen work, but fall still possible. As a result, pay compensation under the court decision will come more than fair to buy the picture.
How do I know whether it is possible to take an image?
Even if the image author is not specified, it is still there, and his work is protected by copyright. If you specify the publication of the author, it is still a violation of the law, because you take his work without permission.
One should always check whether the picture is protected by copyright law and on what conditions it is possible to use it. This can be done even on Google by searching for pictures.
- Go to the section "Pictures". In the search box camera icon will appear, click on it.
- We get a search box where to upload images or link to the file.
- Original pictures will certainly be in high resolution, so that in the search results, click the big picture.
- Go to the websites where those images are, and see how it is specified by the author. It now remains to find it on the web page and see whether there are conditions for the use of works.
What is a license and how does it work?
Most of the content on the web, you can use a pre-defined conditions. These conditions prescribed in the license - agreement to use the content. This contract is open, it is not necessary to conclude and sign on both sides. You just learn the conditions of the license and to comply with them when using images and other media objects.
License conditions can be placed on a site, where you take content. For example, the media often write: "When you copy a hyperlink to the source material." In this case, you have the right to copy the text, if you supplement it with an active link to the source web site.
Here is a list of licenses that are used to indicate the copyright and terms of use of texts, videos, photos and music:
- CC (Creative Commons) - for any content, including software.
- GNU FDL (Free Documentation License) - for documents, encyclopedias, dictionaries.
- DSL (Design Science License) - for any content, including software. It almost ceased to be used with the emergence of Creative Commons.
- Free Art License (License Art Libre) - for all works of art.
Creative Commons - the most popular license. She often used by photographers and designers, Writers and programmers. There are several sub-license with a different set of conditions: for example, refer to the author, use the product only in intact or only on non-commercial terms, and more. The most suitable license - CC0, that is, the product is completely free of copyright.
How to agree with the author?
Write a letter to the author. Tell the purposes for which you intend to use his creation and ask under what conditions he will allow it.
The agreement with the author may be oral or written. If you are afraid that the author begins to complain after the publication, it is better to conclude a contract in writing. So it will be easier to prove that you have published work strictly within the agreement.
It is necessary to take into account the nuances:
- Who owns the property rights to the object. Perhaps the author has sold them to some company and to negotiate with her need.
- What exactly do you want to do with the content. It is necessary to clearly prescribe in the contract. Will you use it for commercial or non-commercial purposes, publish original or will somehow alter it - all of this you need to specify.
All the same items to be included in the contract, if you hire a photographer or designer.
The photographer saw a collage published and submitted to the cafe in the court. He won because the conditions of the contract have been violated.
How to use the images legally and where to take them?
create your own
It's easy, when in the state have a photographer or designer. More services have to create images with a ready-made templates for nedizaynerov: Canva, Piktochart, BeFunky and many others. You can hire a freelance professional - just do not forget to sign a contract with him and to register it in the transfer of property rights to the work.
use photostocks
There are paid and free. It is easy to look for the right image, the license in full view, the choice is relatively large. But these pictures have probably someone used to you - for example, the same smiling people represent employees at sites of hundreds of companies. "Smiling through the pain Harold" and does become a meme, and began to photostock. Another trick - photostocks are illegal and collect photos without permission of the authors. Answer in the end you will have, so that insure and check the picture on Google.
embed image
Only when the non-commercial use. With embeda you do not save a picture to themselves, and embed it in the page code. This way you can take a picture from Instagram, Getty Images, Tumblr and Flickr. This method can be used as mailing lists and website.
Search in Google
Hammered request, go to the section "Pictures". Here, click on "Tools" and select the appropriate license from the drop down list of "use rights". Always go to the site, where is the picture, and check its origin.
Use material from the public domain
In Russia, the property ceases to act copyright 70 years after the author's death. This applies books, Pictures, movies. In the other countries, their terms of copyright, so be sure to review the issue before taking the content.
Can I use other people's texts?
The texts of the same story as the picture - without a permit can not be used. Catchy quotes from the movie or the book perfect for those on the mailing list, but are protected by copyright. And like the original title, and translated.
Even if you take someone else's text and rework it a little, the right holder has the right to file a complaint. He will seek the expertise, and experts can confirm adoption of the text.
How does copyright on social networks?
If the content you ASSUME
The social networks also works copyright. It protects all the images, text, and video SIFCO. No problem, you can repost to do - so you save content authorship. But publish at without authorization and instructions of the author can not be a violation of the law.
The algorithm, if you want to use someone else's content in social networks, the usual. Find the author of the text or the image, look, whether listed on its website or in your account Publication conditions. If you do not specify - contact them and arrange.
If the content is taken from you
Users can take your content for your own personal non-commercial use and shall indicate the author and the source of borrowing. Otherwise, they break the law, you can request removal of content and compensation through the courts.
Put the copyrights on all of your photos and videos, sign authorship. So it will be easier to defend their interests in court.
How to protect your copyright?
To begin, gather evidence: screenshots and links to your pages and pages of a competitor with a similar content, original photos and videos. You should have everything to show - you have placed material before the competition. Go to a notary that he has assured these materials.
Then, try to negotiate peacefully: write the resource owners that you collected "material evidence" and ask them to remove the content and compensate you for at least the notary costs. If the offender does not agree or fails to respond, it is possible to file a lawsuit.
Be sure to consult with a lawyer. It happens that your efforts in the proceedings are not worth either the chance of winning a small or payment is too small.
What you need to remember?
- Images, SIFCO, videos and texts on the Internet are protected by copyright. To use them, you need to agree with the author, or to comply with the license terms.
- Be especially careful if you want to use someone else's content for its advertising.
- If someone steals content you create, collect evidence, reassure them of a notary. Need to remove the illegally used materials. If the offender does not agree, go to court.