How Copyright Laws Affect Bloggers
When creating content for the web, before you hit publish, you must always consider the legal ramifications. Posting something on the web can lead to later legal challenges if it is believed that you or someone else has committed copyright infringement. Fortunately, there are many simple ways to avoid these issues.
The Use Of Images
One of the challenges of maintaining a blog is finding images for that blog. If you can take your own pictures, you own the rights to them and can use them however you wish. However, you may be forced to use the images that are owned by other photographers. Some images are given away for free under the Creative Commons license. But otherwise, it is required to get permission from the author before the image is used. In some cases, this may require the purchasing of the image.
If you place your own images on your blog, there is a risk that these images can be stolen. You may be able to use software to prevent the user from downloading these images, but users are still able to take screen shots. However, once you have taken a picture or purchased the rights to it, you own the pictures and can write a take-down notice. Another option is to use watermarks in your images that will include your copyright information.
Blog Content
Blog content may be stolen and placed on another website. Many users are not aware that what they have done is illegal and a simple email can clarify this matter. However, if it appears that the individual is not interested in following the law, you may feel tempted to press charges or file a lawsuit. However, legal matters can be expensive and it may be better to simply tolerate these acts of theft.
You are allowed to take short excerpts from the blog posts of someone else if these excerpts will be used for the purposes of criticism, commentary, or satire. You are allowed to use facts and ideas in your blog posts. For example, the fact that an event occurred cannot be used to file a case of copyright infringement. Titles, slogans, names, listings of ingredients, and short phrases are also not subject to copyright.
One type of image you are allowed to use is a company logo if you are discussing it. However, you may not use the company logo in a manner that is designed to deceive users. For instance, you are not allowed to use a logo to appear as if you are a company that you are actually not. However, if you avoid these mistakes, you will avoid having committed copyright infringement with your blog posts.
For copyright legal services, contact a company such as Kaliko & Associates, LLC.