These Medium Writers Ran Into Legal Problems When Using Images
Learn from their experiences
I’ve published a number of stories about the perils of using other people’s images on blogs, stressing the importance of adhering to the terms of licences, to avoid legal action and hefty fines for breach of copyright.
Some readers told me about problems and legal claims they’ve come across too. Some had paid retrospective licencing fees or fines. Here’s a selection of the comments, accompanied by my thoughts on each case…
JD Adams told me he’d downloaded a photo from Pixabay and sent it to a publisher. The publisher came back reporting that the photo was not owned by the person attributed in the credits.
“I just used a photo from Pixabay on a story and the publisher came back and said the photo was not from the guy who claimed it and to who I gave credit to,” he explained.
Essentially, it looked like a case of copyright theft, so they weren’t willing to use the image. I’m aware of potential problems with sites like this, as there are no checks on people who upload the content, and there are no guarantees. If I want to use a Pixabay shot, I do sometimes check with the contributor: “did you actually take the photo?” If they confirm that’s the case, I’ll take their word for it, but it’s not a foolproof approach. It requires trust and honesty.
Matthew Meador said, “I, too, was sued for three rights-managed images which I used as comps, for a client project for which I was never paid. The images languished for 15 years on a site I controlled until a Getty Images bot located them and you can guess the rest.”
Getty images are well known for issuing legal demands to people who’ve used their images without buying a licence. I experienced this firsthand at an old place of work and the company had to pay a £1000 fine. It wasn’t my mistake, I should add, but something that had happened before I joined the company. I just had to deal with the fallout when the legal demand came through.
Jan Carroza said, “I know an ad agency that got tied up when a client said they had permission to use an image [by someone who] did not actually own it. This is a word to the wise! And a cautionary tale. The moral of the story is, use your own images as much as you can.”
It’s always worth double-checking with people who supply images to you that they have secured the correct permissions or licences to use any images they’re passing on. I’ve had people send me images for use in magazine articles — images that the people who sent them don’t own and don’t have the rights to use.
When Johnny B. Exploited received an email saying he’d breached someone’s copyright, it was a total surprise. He says, “I answered right away and I apologized for that. The guy luckily wasn’t a Dick and I paid my licensing fee which was $50 dollars. Ever since that day, I’m very skeptical of these websites like Pexels and Unsplash.”
That sounds like Johnny was very unlucky, but he’s not alone in getting legal demands from photographers and legal enforcement companies, claiming to own the copyright to images that are available on the web. Some are fraudulent, many are not, and it’s an absolute minefield.
Alana Jen had a whole new take on the subject, as she’s experienced a challenge for trademark infringement. On that subject, she said, “I got hit up for one of those [trademark infringement notices] by a large company who managed to trademark a very common word,” she said. Now she conducts a thorough trademark search if she wants to start a new brand. “Live and learn,” she said.
Nareeta Martin is a photographer who uploaded a photo of someone else’s artwork onto Unsplash and then realised her mistake.
“As a photographer you have to be careful too,” she said. “My photo of another person’s work which I put on Unsplash = potential trouble too if whatever it is has been licensed. I nearly got caught with that.”
This is because you cannot just photograph someone else’s artwork, logo, or images and assume they are free to use. Those creations are covered by copyright laws, just like photography. That’s why the Unsplash licence doesn’t cover images that contain logos or artwork.
If the artwork is a small element in a bigger scene, like a car badge or shop front in a photo of a town centre, for example, it’s unlikely to be an issue, but start taking a close-up of an emblem, logo, or piece of art, and your right to use that image is less clear cut. An aggrieved artist or company may take issue with it, claiming copyright infringement.
Ally Gill said, “A few years ago I got a demand for £600 for using a photo in a presentation that I gave at a conference (no money received) which I also published on my website (also no financial gain — the website does not use adverts).
“The presentation had been in place for over 5 years, and the photo taken from the internet and due diligence taken to ensure it was not under license.
“Between publishing and the cease and desist request the photo had been acquired by an agency and was no longer available for use. I argued my case but they ignored my pleas and I paid the fine (I was still not allowed to use the photo!). I wonder if the Indian gentleman in the photo received any payment for his image to be sold — I very much doubt it.
“Now I only use my own images, or Unsplash.”
Stuart F. James said, “As a lawyer, I see abuses of the legal system all too often. This story is an example of shameless behavior that is more common than people may think.”
Eugene Brennan said, “There are also the scamsters. A month ago, someone who downloaded one of my public domain images from Pixabay contacted me to say that he was facing legal action by a law firm acting on behalf of their client for use of the image without permission. He removed the image just in case. It seems this was a scam.”
Karen Shanley said, “The attorneys who represent these trolls are even worse. I had a client get a letter from an attorney for damages of $1,500 for an image THAT WAS NOT EVEN LIVE ON THEIR SITE but was still in their media magager!” (WordPress)
“The image had been used on the site for about a week but then taken down as soon as they realized an employee had not properly acquired it.
“What this law firm does is run reverse image lookups and use archives.org
“My client, as most do, (and what these ambulance chasers count on) decided it was cheaper to settle.
“So, yes, the moral of this story is DO NOT USE images you find on google. And stay away from so-called free image sites.
“If you must use images, get yourself a subscription to istock.com.”
I also posted a story on Vocal Media where a reader told me, “I have had a friend that PAID for the picture and the original photographer stated it was stolen and took her to court and she paid.”
Reputable stock photography websites that charge for images should issue you with guarantees that there won’t be any legal issues with the images they supply. Read the terms before you buy. It’s generally considered safer to purchase images from reputable websites that charge for photo licencing, than to use CC sites as a source of imagery, but clearly, the only way to avoid legal claims completely is to take your own shots.
I contribute to Alamy stock photography and can confirm that all photos uploaded by me on the site are taken by me and authorised for sale on Alamy.
The bottom line is that photography copyright has become a litigious area and it’s easy to find breaches using bots, so we should all make sure that any images we use are properly licenced and credited to keep any risk of legal action to a minimum.
If you can, taking your own photos has merit and is the lowest-risk approach. It also means your pics will be unique on Medium, rather than using the same old stock shots that everyone else is using. But the fact that everyone else has been using many of these shots for years should provide some reassurance that it’s a legit CC image and not one that’s been stolen and illegally uploaded to the site.
I use a mix of photos — preferring to use my own when I can, but I also use Unsplash on occasion when I don’t have a good image to accompany a particular story.
Here’s a case of a blogger who was sued for copyright infringement and won the case, but who wants the hassle?
© Susie Kearley 2022. All Rights Reserved.
More of my stories about copyright can be found here…
