Using Images to Tell Your Story - Using Images Legally Online
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If you're reviewing a web site or search engine, and you're just taking screen shots from it for purposes of the review, you're probably safe; it is unlikely that someone is going to come after you with a lawsuit unless you write something truly libelous. Such sites often seek out the publicity, and will appreciate it if you simply link to them in your article. It's also considered courteous to email them a link to your article – in fact, for SEO purposes, it's an excellent idea, since they'll probably link back to your review from their web site.
But what can you do if you're looking for images for less specific purposes? That's where things can get a little shady. There are laws governing how and under what circumstances you can use a picture taken by someone else. If that sounds complicated, well, it can be; the area of copyright keeps legions of lawyers fed and housed quite comfortably, along with their families.
Fortunately, there's something called a Creative Commons license. Rather than put their work under one monumental law that says other people can't use it, photographers and artists and other creative people use Creative Commons licenses, in effect, to increase their audience. There are several kinds of Creative Commons licenses; if you come across an image with such a license, you should check to see which one it uses, so you can conform to its terms.
Photo sharing site Flickr got on board with Creative Commons licenses in a big way. When you use their advanced search feature, you can check a box near the bottom of the page that tells it to “Only search within Creative Commons-licensed content.” Below that you can check boxes that say “Find content to use commercially” and “Find content to modify, adapt, or build upon.” The image of the egg balancer from the previous page came from Flickr; it popped up in a search where I specifically looked for Creative Commons-licensed content for commercial use. Yes, it's a little harder to do this kind of work when you're just looking for something to decorate your site, but at least you gain peace of mind.
Photograph courtesy of kudumomo under a Creative Commons license (http://www.flickr.com/photos/kudumomo/).
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