jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Just how much control does a person have over something he posts on a photo forum? It's one thing to use such an image for printing thousands of greeting cards, but using it as a screen saver is no big deal. There is no way to prevent anyone from using anything that appears on a computer screen.

gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast

This is the correct answer.

Bubbee Loc: Aventura, Florida

I think it is very presumptuous to use someone's posted photo(s) without permission. This also applies to making changes
that are not requested, to others' posts.
This has been an eye-opener for me!

gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast

I’d like to know if anyone can post a copy of a court decision where copyright law has been violated by anyone using for personal non-commercial use a photo that was posted on public media. That would settle the issue for me. Otherwise we’re just tossing around personal opinions that are not based on evidence.

Carl S

If it is copyrighted or water marked, it is not in the public domain.

srt101fan

Including this one?

https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-799489-2.html#14450887

gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast

Yes. I’m amenable to questioning my own conjecture. The only references to copyright law that I’ve read about relate to using someone else’s photo for profit. I’m open to evidence that that is not the case, that simple personal use is also a violation.

AzPicLady Loc: Behind the camera!

It is MOST unethical to use - "borrow" - someone else's image for ANY reason. It is also illegal. And that's not just the thief taking a profit. It is for ANY reason, and that includes using it for their own personal screen saver. That's the law. I know there are people who assume that anything they see is theirs for the taking. That's just wrong. Shouldn't we, of all people, who create images be respectful of each other and each other's rights? It's true some people don't care. Some do. Some people make a living selling and/or licensing their work. We must respect the rights of the creator of the image.

OldCADuser Loc: Irvine, CA

Note that I've never 'downloaded' an image posted on UHH and you may not have noticed, but of all the images that I've posted, I've never once used the option which would have allowed anyone to download one of my images.

I sell stock photos and many of the images which I've posted here on UHH were images that I've either sold in the past or are currently available for sale, and since part of my agreement with the stock photo broker is that I'm not offering them for sale anywhere else (for which I get a larger percentage of the fee collected), I've been careful in not providing access to the original images in any venue. That being said, despite my agreement to deal exclusively with a single broker, that does not mean that I've given-up the copyright to my images. The stock photo house only acts as a broker, as they're not purchasing the images from me, but are rather acting as my agent, and for that they get half the fee that's collected (if I didn't promise them exclusive rights, they would keep 60% of the fee).

charlienow Loc: Hershey, PA

A question I have is a guy on this site uses someone else’s work to convert to 3d. He then posts it on here. He cites the photographer but does not state that he has permission to do so. This does not to me seem right. Does he need to get permission to use these photos this way

Jeffcs Loc: Myrtle Beach South Carolina

I personally would NEVER lift someone’s photo for any reason especially with out asking

BebuLamar

In the case if someone uses an image posted on the internet as their desktop image it's extremely unlikely that the person who took the photo can find out. Even if he can find out it would be very difficult to prove it. So I don't think there is any lawsuit ever filed about this.

elee950021 Loc: New York, NY

Hi all!
In general, the "common practice of individuals... to use someone's work for their personal use... or for other purposes without first asking permission" has been a dirty secret forever. Back in the day, photographers would provide portfolios to potential ad agencies, clients and anybody who might be interested in hiring them for photographic work. Often, art directors and other buyers would "borrow" or copy interesting images for their files!

This practice has existed to this day! Who hasn't saved an image for "reference" never to actually be used for any
commercial purchase but because it appealed to the viewer!

The website: www.petapixel.com highlights copyright cases where photographers have both won and lost lawsuits against those who would impose on their copyrights. Names such as Andy Warhol, Richard Prince and even the tattoo artist Kat Von D have used images for their work which have been protected by their creators. Some of these folks claim "Fair Use" as an exemption for using others' work, see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_use

Things started to get hairy with the invention of Xerox copying in the 50's and nowadays, the Internet where downloading is so eazy and the desktop printer/copier is ubiquitous.

So it basically boils down to one's sense of fairplay and ethics whether or not to ask permission to use someone's creative work!

Be well! Ed

srt101fan

So when you emphatically agreed that photos posted on the internet become part of the public domain that was based on conjecture?

gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast

Yes and I’m subject to being corrected by evidence, as we all must be. I sense that you’re upset about the certainty I expressed in my comment about public use. Such a trivial thing to be upset about just to make an argument.