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WordCamp Detroit

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WordCampDetroit2018 – file from presentation in PDF format

First I am adding in the links that I had open in the class that are now shown on the presentation.

Why this topic? Such an odd topic – images and fonts and using them legally…who cares? Well a lot of people do, and I told two stories in class. – 1. With a $100,000 demand of payment and cease and desist order and another 2. with a $10,000 demand of payment along with a cease and desist order. Follow good choices and you shouldn’t have an issue.

Don’t find yourself screaming because you got a bill for: woman screaming at a filthy tub...like screaming when you get a cease and desist letter and a bill

  1. $100,000 – This one was what they thought was “fair use” of an image – the big gray elephant we talked about in class. Turns out it wasn’t,and the photographer wanted compensation. They settled for a whole lot less but this is a big example of the way people and their attorneys are going after users.They settled for a greatly reduced amount.
  2. $10,000 – This one was because a name of a former website editor was left in the code (take your names out of the code when you transfer the site). The new website people in India decided to use some images that were rights managed and only available for a couple of years, after that you had to pay for the use again. They didn’t pay, they only person’s name in the code – got the bill. Took a few months to get it straightened out but eventually it was turned over to the people in India.

COPYRIGHT VS TRADEMARK

The first thing in this digital age you probably need to understand is just because you can find it online doesn’t mean you have the right to use it. Most of the items online are copyrighted.

According to this page and a fairly simple explanation: https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/copyright-fair-use-and-how-it-works-for-online-images/

Article I, Section 8, clause 8, of the United States Constitution states the purpose of copyright laws is “to promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.”

  • Copyright attaches as soon as the original work is created
  • Copyright is an automatic right and does not require the author to file special paperwork (although you can)
  • The copyright owner has the right to do four things (called exclusive rights):
    • Reproduce the copyrighted work;
    • Display the copyrighted work publicly;
    • Prepare derivative works based on the copyrighted work; and
    • Distribute copies of the copyrighted work to the public by sale, rental or lending, and/or to display the image.

ADDED AFTER CLASS – PER CONVERSATION IN CLASS – TRADEMARK

A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol, and/or design that identifies and distinguishes the source of the goods of one party from those of others. We were talking about the font from Disney or Coke – 1. Don’t use those fonts and 2. the logos – images are trademarked. The Disney logo is trademarked the font is not per se trademarked but I wouldn’t use it. Why chance it. I even avoid font sites that sell or advertise Disney fonts.

YOUR DEFENSE AGAINST COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT – CYA

I keep folders out on the cloud in two different places (just in case one goes out of business)

I keep folders of the product (font, image, Illustrator files etc.) and one folder with the licenses of each and if necessary I make a PDF of my entire purchase that day (I make a PDF copy of the license at the time of purchase)

Each main folder is the name of the company – then the license and then images, Illustrator files etc.

  • FILE FOLDER – PIXELO
    • FILE FOLDER – LICENSES
      • futuristic-design-bundle.PDF (This is a PDF of all of the files I purchased that day)
      • pixelo.pdf (license) – This covers all of the files I purchased
    • FILE FOLDER – FONTS
    • FILE FOLDER – ILLUSTRATOR FILES
    • FILE FOLDER – OTHER FILES
  • FILE FOLDER – UNSPLASH
    • FILE FOLDER – LICENSES – all the PDFs of the licenses
    • FILE FOLDER – IMAGES – all the images

I recently had a conversation with some attorneys about defense. They think my plan is solid – HOWEVER – what if the company you originally bought the image from was suddenly aquired by a larger company and they send you a letter stating that you owe them money because that image is no longer royalty free (we will talk about this in a minute) and now they want money for it…this was a healthy argument not yet settled by court cases. My guess is that you would win if  you had the defense to show your purchase was made prior to the merger and therefore your purchase is protected under the original licensing agreement. This is why I keep my licensing stuff…a little extra work upfront means less potential headache later.

IMAGES – In general

The best images are your own images. You can use them as  you want, you can watermark them to discourage theft. If you are in the business of let’s say a landscaping company and want to take before and after pictures for your website make sure you have permission in your contract to do so.

You can track your images digitally. You can insert metadata on your images – makes them searchable and installs the copyright information.

https://www.picturesandstories.com/news/2014/4/21/tags-and-captions-how-to-label-your-digital-photos-using-metadata

You can always run a reverse image search too to see if someone has appropriated your images without your permission – go to images.google.com

See the little camera – click on it – there you can upload your image to see if there are others using that image. If yes and without permission send a cease and desist letter to their ISP with all of the details. If it continues you might want to seek out an attorney for damages.

I always suggest that images on the web be 72 DPI. That also discourages theft of images. If you are new to the DPI game here is a good article.

PUBLIC DOMAIN IMAGES

Not all public domain images are old old images – some are quite new images and gorgeous.

A public domain image is defined as a photo, clip art or vector whose copyright has expired or never existed in the first place. These images can be used by almost anyone for personal and commercial purposes. (Creative Commons Zero)

Some example images from the PowerPoint

  1. https://www.publicdomainpictures.net/en/view-image.php?image=18882&picture=background-with-flower-and-butterfly
  2. http://publicdomainarchive.com/category/vintage/page/2/

CREATIVE COMMONS IMAGES

Creative Commons is a newer concept that is growing in popularity with fonts, images, software etc. There are differing types of Creative Commons and you must adhere to the rules of product if you use it.

The following information is from https://creativecommons.org/

  • CC0 – Creative Commons Zero – no copyright, no licensing, no attribution is needed, but if you can…do it!
  • CC BY – Attribution – distribute, remix, tweak, and build upon a work, even commercially, just provide attribution.
  • CC BY-SA – remix, tweak, and build upon a work even for commercial purposes, as long as you credit and license your new creations under the identical terms.
    This license is often compared to “copyleft” free and open source software licenses.
    All new works based on the original work will carry the same license, so any derivatives will also allow commercial use. This is the license used by Wikipedia, and is recommended for materials that would benefit from incorporating content from Wikipedia and similarly licensed projects.
  • CC BY-ND  – This license allows for redistribution, commercial and non-commercial, as long as it is passed along unchanged and in whole, with credit to original creator.
  • CC BY-NC – This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon a work non-commercially, and although their new works must also acknowledge original creator and be non-commercial, they don’t have to license their derivative works on the same terms.
  • CC BY-NC-SA  – This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon a work non-commercially, as long as they credit the original creator and license their new creations under the identical terms.
  • CC BY-NC-ND – This license is the most restrictive of the six main licenses, only allowing others to download your works and share them with others as long as they credit original creator, but they can’t change them in any way or use them commercially.

FAIR USE IMAGES

To me this is the big gray elephant in the room – defining fair use as below really leaves a lot of unanswered questions. Personally I would never assume something is fair use ever again.

  • Fair use is a legal exception to the exclusive rights an owner has for his or her copyrighted work.
  • To allow for limited and reasonable uses as long as the use does not interfere with owners’ rights or impede their right to do with the work as they wish.

If you come up with a really really clear definition please feel free to contact me to update…you get credit!

EDITORIAL IMAGES

Kind of another gray elephant. Many of the news images are editorial.

  • Editorial Use is a publishing term based on the Fair Use exception of copyright law where copyrighted work can be used without authorization for purposes of news reporting, criticism, education, etc. …
  • Images that are MARKED as “editorial use only” are ones that have not been released for commercial use and have also been taken without the consent of the individuals in the photo.
  • You can buy images for editorial usage.

ROYALTY FREE

  • Means you can use the images forever there isn’t a time limit on the images. Also you can use it over and over usually – but check with the license when you buy it.
  • Also some sites require that you still be a member to use it forever…most don’t.

RIGHTS MANAGED – think Getty Images

  • Usually there is a time limit on how long you can use the image, video etc. Also usually good for one-time use – then you need to pay to reuse.

MODEL RELEASE – missing from sites like Unsplash and Pixabay

  • It means that the model has been compensated in some format and has signed rtheir rights away for use.
  • Often the website has caveats as to the use of the image. (no porn, denigration, etc.)

PROPERTY RELEASE – missing from sites like Unsplash and Pixabay

  • Usually a piece of property (like a barn or a home) that allows you the right to use their property in an image. Think of famous buildings or art, usually the architect or artist own the copyright.
  • Often the website has caveats as to the use of the image.

DERIVATIVES

I love it when I can create derivatives like changing the color of the cat’s eyes. If you make any change it is a derivative. PERIOD end of story. I always give the originator credit and a link even if the change was huge and looks nothing like the original.

FONTS OR TYPEFACES

Google Fonts – https://fonts.google.com/#AboutPlace:about

Protection of fonts – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellectual_property_protection_of_typefaces

  • Fonts are fun, addicting actually. They can be used to create images, printing and embedding on a website. Make sure you always buy a commercial license. That way you don’t have to worry about if you can use this commercially or not.
  • Also don’t ever use a font associated with something like Disney or Coke etc. While I realize these fonts are available…so are their many attorneys! Just don’t!
  • Give credit if credit is asked for – send them a little money via paypal as a nice thank you as well.
  • Always read the EULA – End User Licensing Agreement.

THANK YOUS

Remember to be a good person – give credit when you can even if you don’t have to.

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