With today’s technology, it’s pretty easy for the owner of these images (or a company working on their behalf) to search the web to find out who’s using their photography, clip art, or cartoons without permission, and this can land you in some expensive image copyright penalty trouble!
The image copyright penalty refers to the legal consequences and financial damages incurred by an individual or organization for violating copyright laws by using someone else’s copyrighted images without permission.
About image copyright
Copyright law gives the owner of an original image exclusive rights to it for a certain time period. They have the right to prevent others from copying it, distributing it, adapting it for use in another creation (a derivative work) or publicly showing it without their permission. During this period, the image is not copyright-free and you should never use it yourself without the express permission of the owner, or someone who is licensed to sell copies of it, such as a stock photo website. Using an image without the copyright holder’s permission constitutes copyright infringement. This can lead to legal action, including demands for the removal of the image, monetary damages, and, in severe cases, statutory fines or criminal charges.
What happens if you use an image without our permission?
If you’re caught using our watermarked images without written permission or the appropriate license, you shall have to pay a fine of Kenya Shillings 80,000 and attorney fees of Kenya Shillings 20,000. Offering to remove the image doesn’t change the fact that you’ve had the use of it up to that point, so you’re unlikely to get away scot-free.
I’ve seen an image on someone else’s website – how do I get permission to use it?
If you’ve found the perfect image but it’s on someone else’s website, get in touch with them to establish who owns the image and whether they would grant permission for you to use it. Depending on the circumstances, they may be only too happy to agree, especially if you’re promoting something about them.
The different scenarios here are:
- They agree you can use the image free of charge for the purpose you outlined in your request
- They agree you can use the image but insist that you give them attribution (e.g. a link to their website alongside the image and an acknowledgment of their copyright)
- They ask for a royalty payment to use the image
- They refuse permission.
So the next time you’re tempted to right-click and save..?
Resist the temptation. You’ll kick yourself for not checking the usage rights of a photo, cartoon, or clip-art when a letter demanding several hundred (or several thousand) pounds in fines and retrospective license fees lands on your doormat.
