“Don’t Steal Images”, Ok that sounds really dumb right?
But unfortunately the internet is very wild wild west.
Computers allow us to right click “save image as” and BOOM the image is ours!
Or is it… Well no it really is not.
You have to have rights to use images.
I heard recently that some Local Business as being contacted with demand letters for hundreds to THOUSANDS of dollars for copyright infringement.
How? Why?
Their staff whose job it was to blog for them… took it upon themselves to take the image from google images or someone else’s site or something like this.
Used it in the blog post. And there we have it folks – theft.
And the image company finds out they always do. They have a legal department ready with the demand letter.
It only costs a few dollars to buy an image from companies like istock photo.
Buy them. Pay those that deserve it.
They work hard for that.
I know we have had people steal our images and we always some how run across them.
Some even steal code – even worse (at least to a web guy, maybe not to the photographer)!
Pay people that deserve it.
Keep your marketing clean.
Get patients or customers that pay, stay and refer!
Matt Prados
PS: if you are using stolen photos take them down! Hope you never get caught having used them and GO BUY THEM!
