It was a busy and short holiday week. I had just gotten the “go ahead” to send out our Thanksgiving Thank You to our mailing list. I had searched high and low for the perfect barn in a beautiful fall setting to visually enhance the message of our thanks! I thought I was being a savvy and very thrifty marketer grabbing my image from a “free source” online saving time and most importantly my marketing budget from the purchase, all while slaying my to do list like a boss even with two less word days. The holidays came and went and one Monday morning I received that letter in the mail. You know the “Hey we saw that you used our beautiful photo in your marketing materials and we never received payment for it so … congrats now you owe us $750.” letter.
WHAT???? On this day just about a decade ago I learned a valuable lesson. Which is why I can’t believe I still have to have this conversation with others about the use of information and images you find on the internet. The conversation usually goes a little like this… “The internet is not a free-for-all image and content library that you can use at your disposal to help market your company or organization. You do know that, if you use an image or content that you have saved from the internet without permission, you are stealing it…right?”
How is copyright infringement even still a thing?
It’s so easy with today’s technology to take screenshot or save an image to your device. Let’s face it, the internet is just one vast information highway that has just about anything you could ever want. Some think, like I did many years ago, they can quickly grab what they need and go about their day. That is true, but if you do and you don’t give credit, get permission or pay for a subscription to use it, you are stealing and breaking the law.
The next time you say “Hey Siri” or “OK Google,” keep in mind the information that your virtual assistant finds for you is someone else’s intellectual property. Using it improperly can put you and your organization at risk financially. If you didn’t create it (and fyi, editing doesn’t count), it’s not yours. This risky practice can often cause an organization to find themselves owing the original artist hundreds (if your lucky) or even thousands of dollars.
How do you know if it is “free” to use?
That pretty fall barn scene? I thought it was free based on the website I downloaded it from. In reality, the image had been stolen and put on the site that, to the untrained eye, appeared to be a free resource. It was unintentional, but still proved to be a costly mistake that glared at me as a firm reminder from the negative line item in my marketing budget for the entire year.
So how do you know when free really is free? There are many legitimate shareware sites on the web. But, BEWARE, shareable doesn’t necessarily mean “free use” it just means you have the right to share it. Some artists have placed their intellectual property online for the purposes of sharing, but ask that you give credit in exchange for use. Honoring this request is usually not strictly monitored, but should be met whenever possible. It’s also the right thing to do. There are some artists that even allow use without credit. READ THE FINE PRINT.
The following are websites that we have vetted to be legitimate and offer free or sharable images and graphics (remember, to always look at the fine print for each image or graphic you want to use):
- Pixabay
- Flickr
- Vecteezy
If you cannot find what you are seeking on a “free image” site, there are several options for images that can be purchased. Again, be careful when purchasing the license to ensure it includes all potential uses that you may need to have. Here are a few sites that we recommend:
- iStock
- Masterfile
- Dreamstime
The next time you download the perfect image to help tell your story, be sure you have crossed all your t’s and dotted all your i’s in knowing the source and expectations.
So, what if I own the image?
If the image is yours and it is online you are free to use it. You are free to download it, but keep in mind in most instances, the images will be too small to do anything useful with. Web graphics are typically optimized and compressed to load fast on the web. If you need to use the image, it is best to find your original source file.
What if I used an image and didn’t realize it wasn’t free?
If the owner hasn’t contacted you, remove the image immediately and replace it with something you do own. If the owner has contacted you, you are free to negotiate terms, but it is best to pay for the use. Be sure once you pay, you only use it for the terms they provided in the licensing agreement. You can’t use it on multiple channels if they only provide a license for a one-time use.
If you have other questions or need help finding the right imagery to help you enhance your story, we would love to help. We typically encourage authentic original imagery when possible (in fact we might know a guy or gal who can take some awesome pics you will own), but in a pinch there are many great resources we can use to assist you.
