Laura Preston
Junior Member
What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? NY
Can I use published (print, still captures from TV, or online) photos of celebrities on my website/blog?
There is a site, for example, www.awfulplasticsurgery.com that uses photos of celebrities to illustrate good or bad plastic surgery the celebrity may or may not have had. I can only assume, by looking at the photos, that they come from various sources (National Enquirer, New York Times, video stills from broadcast events like the Oscars, Grammies, etc) and that the site does not employ their own photographers.
Although he is not using the celebrities' images to market or sell any products with claims of celebrity endorsement, he does make money from his site through Google AdLinks, and other link arrangements with plastic surgery sites and cosmetic surgeons. (His readerships in terms of hits, is phenomenally high!)
Thousands of other sites do the same thing. My question is: Is he vulnerable to charges of copyright infringement? Or is it legal? He usually crops the photos to emphasize the point of concern, (shows Brittany Spears faciel close-up to illustrate her various nose jobs, etc) but often they are unaltered.
And here's a guy who has an entire page of "Disclaimers" regarding the images that he uses. Does that exempt him? (http://www.seeing-stars.com/disclaimers.shtml)
I am interested in establishing a fashion commentary site that shows fashion "Do's" and "Don'ts" and it would certainly be easy to use existing fashion shots from various published sources. Of course, it would be clearly expressed that the sight represents views that are solely my opinion. Am I at risk?
And in case there is any suspicion, I would NOT be trying to directly profit from the celebrity's image (as in using it for endorsement or to sell product). I am less concerned with any complaints from the celebrities themselves, as I would be with, say, The National Enquirer, or the original photographer of the photo, as I WOULD be trying to profit from my website as a whole through readership/hits against ad/link referrals, NOT related to any specific photos/images.
Help! I want to get started...
Thanks,
LP
Can I use published (print, still captures from TV, or online) photos of celebrities on my website/blog?
There is a site, for example, www.awfulplasticsurgery.com that uses photos of celebrities to illustrate good or bad plastic surgery the celebrity may or may not have had. I can only assume, by looking at the photos, that they come from various sources (National Enquirer, New York Times, video stills from broadcast events like the Oscars, Grammies, etc) and that the site does not employ their own photographers.
Although he is not using the celebrities' images to market or sell any products with claims of celebrity endorsement, he does make money from his site through Google AdLinks, and other link arrangements with plastic surgery sites and cosmetic surgeons. (His readerships in terms of hits, is phenomenally high!)
Thousands of other sites do the same thing. My question is: Is he vulnerable to charges of copyright infringement? Or is it legal? He usually crops the photos to emphasize the point of concern, (shows Brittany Spears faciel close-up to illustrate her various nose jobs, etc) but often they are unaltered.
And here's a guy who has an entire page of "Disclaimers" regarding the images that he uses. Does that exempt him? (http://www.seeing-stars.com/disclaimers.shtml)
I am interested in establishing a fashion commentary site that shows fashion "Do's" and "Don'ts" and it would certainly be easy to use existing fashion shots from various published sources. Of course, it would be clearly expressed that the sight represents views that are solely my opinion. Am I at risk?
And in case there is any suspicion, I would NOT be trying to directly profit from the celebrity's image (as in using it for endorsement or to sell product). I am less concerned with any complaints from the celebrities themselves, as I would be with, say, The National Enquirer, or the original photographer of the photo, as I WOULD be trying to profit from my website as a whole through readership/hits against ad/link referrals, NOT related to any specific photos/images.
Help! I want to get started...
Thanks,
LP