What are the copyrights on a picture?

[DeatH_StaR]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
I want do develope a mobile application that uses pictures of celebrities. I want the pictures of celebrities. The only problem - I want to be *sure* they are copyright free. Flicker or wikipedia my *claim* the photos are copyright free - but how could I trust them? Someone could still say he didn't allow the upload and sue me... I could buy the photos, but they cost thousends of dollars or even tens of thousends of dollars if my app is succesfull and reaches more than 250,000 people (in sites like shutterstock or getty-images). What could I do? Are photos on facebook copyright free and I may use them? Is there a site that could give photos with a guarantee they are free and is cheap (phone screen are small so I can mange photos in low resolution)? What about paintings?

 

[justalayman]

Unless you took them, presume the owner of the copyrights has not given you permission to use the pictures.

Are photos on facebook copyright free and I may use them?

NO.

all pictures are inherently covered by copyrights. Treat all pictures as you needing to acquire proper licensing to use.

What about paintings?

what about them? You can't post a painting on a phone. You post a picture of a painting and whomever took that picture holds the copyrights to that picture. Get permission or risk being sued.

I could buy the photos, but they cost thousends of dollars or even tens of thousends of dollars

that is called the cost of doing business. Failing to acquire proper licensing could cost you that, and more, if sued by the owner of the copyrights and then you would still not be able to use the pictures without proper licensing.

 

[DeatH_StaR]

Unless you took them, presume the owner of the copyrights has not given you permission to use the pictures.



NO.

all pictures are inherently covered by copyrights. Treat all pictures as you needing to acquire proper licensing to use.


what about them? You can't post a painting on a phone. You post a picture of a painting and whomever took that picture holds the copyrights to that picture. Get permission or risk being sued.

that is called the cost of doing business. Failing to acquire proper licensing could cost you that, and more, if sued by the owner of the copyrights and then you would still not be able to use the pictures without proper licensing.

So in all the entire net there is no place I can find free images? I don't need the best images, just those that show what I need. The cost of doing business is that high?
And by paintings I mean - suppose i'm painting someone and use that image. Can that someone sue me because he didn't allow me the painting?

 

[quincy]

So in all the entire net there is no place I can find free images? I don't need the best images, just those that show what I need. The cost of doing business is that high?
And by paintings I mean - suppose i'm painting someone and use that image. Can that someone sue me because he didn't allow me the painting?

There are images that are in the public domain and those you can use. With images that are NOT in the public domain, however, you can run into not only copyright issues but publicity/privacy rights issues, when you do not get prior permission from the holder of the rights.

Are you in the U.S., DeatH_StaR? Copyright laws can be similar in other countries, but they also vary in significant ways.

The U.S. Copyright Office site is: http://www.copyright.gov. Privacy and publicity rights vary by state in the U.S.

 

[justalayman]

So in all the entire net there is no place I can find free images? I don't need the best images, just those that show what I need. The cost of doing business is that high?
And by paintings I mean - suppose i'm painting someone and use that image. Can that someone sue me because he didn't allow me the painting?

it's possible but given what you are looking for, doubtful. Not only are the pictures of "famous" people owned by somebody, famous people also have legal rights in their rights of publicity. Both can be an issue with your project.

as to the paintings; you are doing the paintings? If they are your paintings, then you own the copyrights to them. Just be aware of the publicity rights any individual may have in using their image at all.

This is not a simple project you are suggesting. It would be in your best interest to actually speak to a lawyer about the specifics of your project before spending too much time and effort on it to see if it would be financially practical to move ahead with it. It may cost you more than it is worth to go ahead with it.

 

[quincy]

It would have helped, DeatH_StaR, if you had kept all of your questions to this single thread instead of starting a new one*. As it is, with you being in Israel and not in the U.S., this forum really can't help you. You need to refer to the laws in your country.

If you are curious about the definition of "public domain" materials in the U.S., however, you can click on the U.S. Copyright link I provided earlier.



* DeatH_StaR's new thread, a continuation of this thread: https://forum.freeadvice.com/copyrights-trademarks-39/what-copyrights-picture-602715.html