COMMENTS - PLEASE ENTER PROGRAM NAME IN SUBJECT LINE

BEWARE OF COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT WHEN USING IMAGES FROM WEBSITES

By Rotarian Peter Townsend

We recently advised one of our clients in relation to a letter of demand from a US company for infringement of copyright.  The client had no idea the image that he reproduced in his own website was copyright protected and though the image was removed from his website soon after the letter of demand was received, our client still faced a very large penalty fee.

There is a widely held misconception that images found online can be used by anyone since it’s in the “public domain”.  Equally misconceived is the notion that anything without the © sign is not copyright protected and, therefore, up for grabs.  In fact copying and pasting has become so commonplace that one cannot be even sure of an image’s original source. 

Whether an image is in the public domain is not decided by whether it is publicly available.  It also doesn’t keep you off the hook just by acknowledging the copyright either.  What is required is an express permission to reproduce the image from the copyright holder.

Our general advice is that if you find an image you would like to use from a website, start with the presumption that the image is copyright protected.  You should then find out the copyright holder of the image and obtain permission to reproduce or distribute the image, usually by paying a relatively small once-only licence fee.  

You should always investigate whether a copyright exists before you do anything.  Perhaps it would be better to only source images for your website from a reputable image-library which can advise you immediately on the copyright (and royalty) issues relating to the image.

Not-for-profit organizations, such as Rotary clubs, are required to adhere to the laws of copyright, just like commercial enterprises. Therefore, Rotary clubs everywhere are duty bound to ensure that images they reproduce on their websites, and in other media, are approved for publication by the copyright holder.

About the author:  Peter Townsend is a business lawyer with over 30 years experience advising to the superannuation, accounting and financial services industries.  

A  founding member of the International Association of Financial Planners in Australia, Peter assisted with the merger of the IAFP and ASIFA that created the FPA and was a NSW Committee member of the IAFP and then the FPA for over 9 years.

He is the author of a handbook for small business called "Small Business & The Law" and writes a monthly column in IFA Magazine.

Peter has been a member of the Rotary Club of Sydney, Australia, since 1997.