Who killed the copy cat - I

Actually, nobody killed it 'cause she's still at large - otherwise there would be no point for this post. Whether she’s driven by arrogance, ignorance or negligence, here’s how to tame her, whether inside you or at you.

Pictures.
In search of:
So there it is your beautiful text and now all you have to do is spice it up with some photos. It is really tempting to fish some images from google or save them off a blog/ website. But it's wrong.

Photography intellectual rights are no joke and only the owner and licenced parties are allowed to approve their publishing. So where does that leave you? One of the most well-written and enlightening suggestions on which photos to use is this by IFB (use your own*, ask for press photos, use public domain images).

When I don’t use my own* photos, I ask for permission. It only takes four words: May. I. Use. This? And then I credit. It is illegal not to, unless licensed otherwise (Greek law on this). It pays tribute, shows you did your research and have your sources.

*own photos are 100% safe only if the subject is you or your personal belongings. Do your homework on it and read stuff like this. Also, there are technicalities like not being allowed to publish photos of a store window without permission, unless you are somewhere in that picture too, etc.

>>Worst case scenario(s):
You use image from web. Let's say you credit too. Owner comes across the post, doesn’t like it, and:
a) asks you to have it removed (ok)
b) asks you to have it removed and still sues you (a bit over the top?)
c) sues you without notice, because he can (mean?)

(Unless you’re commercially exploiting the photo, that’s quite unlikely. Then again you never know and it always depends on what you "borrowed")

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