When sharing the results of your creative endeavors using our imagery, it is important that you mark the images prior to posting online. Suggested examples are shared below. Rest assured we aren't tyrannical or self-absorbed, we just have to protect our intellectual property from being pilfered by the willful and the ignorant. To avoid being among the ignorant, read on...Your Responsibility
Our mission is to provide you with countless hours of creative fun and inspiration! We don't want to stifle your fun or rain on your parade, but you should observe certain ethical practices if you want to share online any creations made using tutorials from someone other than yourself. The best practice (even for your own original works) is to clearly mark the photograph.
The text should be visible on the image as sites often strip file info or meta data.
The goal is simply to provide the viewer with the information necessary to reach the copyright holder or find the educational material that you used. If you are unclear on the appropriate wording for your image, please feel free to check with us for suggestions. We don't bite.
The notice should be on every image you post, including private web albums such as those only shared with family or friends, or for your own personal viewing. If you post it, it needs to be marked. The internet is written in ink not pencil and even if your album is "private", you are still granting the service provider a host of permissions; you no longer have control of the image.
Why is this necessary?
Well, the big boys make up their rules and most users fail to read the fine print, so you should make sure postings are identifiable to protect the copyright. Excerpts from a couple TOU concerning intellectual property follow.
Excerpt from FB Terms of Use
Excerpt from Pinterest Terms of Use
What this means to you (not a legal interpretation--just common sense)
You are assuring FB or Pinterest that you own the intellectual property rights and have the authority to grant a transfer of these rights to them. However, unless you only post original content, you do not. All intellectual property (IP) rights are owned by the originator of the work. Even though you may have painted, printed, stamped or otherwise used (or modified) a design, the resulting creation is not owned by you because the originator owns the rights to permit copies, and owns the rights to reproducing the original work as well as derivative works in any and all formats. Don't overlook "in connection with" in the preceding excerpt. That indicates that, even if you don't post the IP but link to it, you are granting the transfer all of the same rights. Scary huh?
Pinterest is even worse as you are granting both Pinterest, and it's users, extensive permissions of which you have no authority to do. It's your neck on the line because you have assured these service providers that you have the authority to grant these permissions. Uh oh.
Not a FB or Pinterest user?
Check the TOU of any image service provider and you will find similar terms. Even if you share images solely on your own domain, you are still not safe. Google crawls for images just like any content, and they become part of the search result. Visitors to your site have the ability to post, pin, download, share and/or otherwise distribute. You have right-click disabled? No worries, a simple screen shot will get around that. In short, if it is up there, it is out there. And YOU are responsible.