Scared Sh!tless

I was recently reading the many blogs on my Potential Handbooks tab and came across this post from the talented and ever awesome Jillsmo about the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and it scared the shit out of me.

You see, I have uploaded some images that weren't mine.

I always cited the source to make sure that where I was getting the images from was properly recognized but even doing that is not legal!!

I honestly thought that citing sources like when writing a paper in High School would cover my ass when it came to plagiarism/copyright infringement but apparently not.

In her post she mentioned this article where a photo with a copyright was used and ended up costing the company $3,000 (the original request was $8,000) because they didn't know the copyright laws.

It can happen to you!

It can happen to me!

Heck, I know I can't risk a few thousand dollars - hell, I can't risk $5.00 so I have taken down all the photos that I have not taken myself and replaced them with this...

You can use this image - I give you permission :-)

I admit my guilt and my stupidity.

In the article, the writer Kari DePhillips details the following:

Current Fair Use image copyright laws say that you’re financially liable for posting copyrighted images, even if: 

• You did it by accident
• You immediately take down the picture after receiving a DMCA takedown notice 
• The picture is resized
• If the picture is licensed to your Web developer (Getty Images requires that you get your own license, thank you very much)
• You link back to the photo source and cite the photographer’s name
• Your site isn’t commercial and you make no money from your blogs
• You have a disclaimer on the site
• The pic is embedded instead of saved on your server
• You found it on the Internet 

From now on, I will be using Royalty Free images or my own or maybe even take a page from Jillsmo and draw my own - THAT will be funny as I can't draw worth my life.

Also, make sure that when you do upload YOUR OWN images, put a watermark on them in a place that is not easily removed via crop or editor - it might make your images look a little wonky but atleast your stuff is protected.

(It's still safe to create memes like the one above because they are granting you the permission to do it through their create your own option - this way you are doing it safely)

We have too much to worry about as it is - don't risk it.

Our kids' college and therapy funds depend on us.

Note: I have added a few Royalty Free Photo sites onto my Potential Handbooks tab if you're looking for some.