Proper Text and Image Attribution: How To Avoid a Law Suit So You Don’t Lose $50,000
A Carrot member recently canceled. And when someone cancels their membership with us, they have the option of including details as to why they’re canceling. Just so happens he did include some details — here’s what he said (In this instance, Carrot did not provide the images that they chose to put on their website): “Lawsuit for copyrighted images required me to dissolve my LLC and not sure what’s next so I am canceling my account. Please confirm I will not be billed this month my business account does not have enough funds to cover the auto draft.” Good night. One day you’re operating a perfectly healthy real estate business… and the next day someone is suing you for using their images on your website. Unfortunately for unsuspecting victims who made a one-time mistake like the member above, the penalty for copyright infringement is no joke. According to Copyright.gov… âAnyone found to have infringed a copyrighted work may be liable for statutory damages up to $30,000 for each work infringed and, if willful infringement is proven by the copyright owner, that amount may be increased up to $150,000 for each work infringed. In addition, an infringer of a work may also be liable for the attorney’s fees incurred by the copyright owner to enforce his or her rights.â It’s no surprise then, that this member wasn’t able to continue doing business. That’s a big hit to the financial well-being of any real estate business. A hit that you need not encounter. Which is why we put this article together for you. To explain copyright law, show you the risks of breaking it, and then show you how you can safely share images and quote other people’s content. Let’s get started. Current Copyright Laws: What You Can and Can’t Do I’m going to start with some copyright safety standards that should be obvious… but just to be safe. You should never copy someone else’s content word-for-word without quotation marks, proper attribution (Who said it? When did they say it? Where did they say it?), and a link — if possible — to the place where they said it (to create a hyperlink, use Command + K on Mac or Control + K on Windows). You should never use another website’s screenshot or image on your website without proper attribution (At the very least, a link to where you got the image — see our Carrot articles for examples of this). You should never use another person’s image or photograph if it is exclusively copyrighted and not allowed to be used by anyone else. Follow those three rules and you’ll be mostly safe. Emphasis on “mostly.” The truth is, online copyright laws are painfully ill-defined. Here’s how Anna C at TinyTake puts it: “Screen captures and image use on both private and personal blog use is common practice. Since the internet offers an easy to access collective of useful images and information, the line can be blurred on what is considered fair use and what is considered copyright infringement. Courts have refused to set bright-line rules regarding what is fair use. This is mainly because the Fair Use Doctrine was codified as part of the Copyright Act (Title 17) to address potential rigid application of copyright laws that could otherwise infringe on the very creative works the law was designed to promote. Since its implementation, courts have struggled to how to apply this doctrine consistently. One federal judge has been quoted as saying that, ‘fair use is one of the most unsettling areas of the law. The doctrine has been said to be so flexible as to virtually defy definition.’” … Continued