photo credit: William Brinson
About a month ago I took an Alt Summit online class on Copyright Issues for Bloggers, taught by Susan and William Brinson, creators of the gorgeous blog named House of Brinson– if you are not familiar with it I invite you to experience their visual feast. In their class they covered two specific scenarios: bloggers who create their own images and bloggers using others images. Both Brinsons are professionals in the industry- Susan works in advertising and Will is a professional photographer.
“Our main goal when we agreed to teach this class is to help the blogging community understand that using copyrighted work (specifically photography) without permission can have financial consequences.” -Susan Brinson
Their Alt class was so intriguing that I asked for a followup interview so I could share their insights with you. Here are some Q&A from our interview:
This is great and important to know – I noticed a lot of folks put watermarks on their photos, is this similar to copyrighting or do you have to go thru the copyrighting process and fee for each photo before putting a watermark on? I will look at the links provided too!
Yes, the Brinsons did a great job making this complicated information understandable. This may not be a popular topic with the masses who are casually using photos on the internet, but I have a sense that people will start taking more decisive action against those who abuse the copyright laws. One high profile blogger was sued by a magazine and forced to remove all mag’s photos from blog. This is serious stuff…
This conversation is a great beginning, it is complex and there is so much more. Thank you Courtney and Susan and William Brinson xo
so true, Pamela, tks…
Excellent post, Courtney! Thank you for that explanation by the Brinson’s on a topic that is always confusing!
xo
So glad to learn more on this too, Jackie, thanks for stopping by!
Courtney, this is great info and a bit frightening at the repercussions as well. So many of us use Pinterest and the photos on there. I will be more cautious from now on.
Thanks for your comment, Melanie. I think we will all be more careful, now that we know. Better to find out this way!!
Wow Courtney, thanks for this info. It’s so hard to keep up with the laws, this is a great jumping off point. Need to do more research!
Thanks Tina.The Brinsons did a great job with this complicated info- cheers to them for the reality check.
Courtney, thank you for featuring the Brinsons and their wealth of knowledge on this topic – a very informative and important introduction.
Thanks Sarah!
I incorporate my signature into my images that I post online and it’s a way for me to prove copyright because image thieves don’t notice it. Like others, I am fairly flexible about others using my work but this morning I discovered a galley had stolen my image, altered it and was selling it as a school background photo. I knew it was my photograph because they didn’t notice my embedded signature.
http://jafabrit.blogspot.com/2013/05/gallery-steals-my-photograph-to-sell-as.html
Wow, so smart of you to incorporate your signature. Good thing you found that – it amazes me how much of that sort of thing goes on. Thanks for including the link…