So before I posted my book boyfriend this week, I saw Missie's post and kind of freaked out. I have always went above and beyond on this blog to always use paid or subscribed stock photos, my own personal photos or creative common celebrity/model photos. After reading a post at Roni Loren's site Im pretty sure I have made some mistakes concerning photography and photos I have used at TBR's. 

Although I have given credit were credit is due, I have failed to get written permission, something I didnt know I needed when dealing with photos. In the fear of being 'Story Siren'd by twitter and social media I wanted to take the time to just say sorry. Over the next few weeks I will be going through my blog and making sure any photos being used are mine, paid for, have been given to me by permission or are legally creative common safe. Now granted I feel outside of celebrity photos this is not a problem for me and while those boys are beautiful to look at, a big fat lawsuit is not.


Educate yourself: I would encourage all of you to check out Roni's post and Missie's for information and go through your own blogs and make sure your photos are safe.

Photo Websites I use, subscribe to and/or have paid for:

BigStock

Free Digitals (These Pictures are free if you use the small size and give credit- larger sizes have prices)

Free Photos you can use./Creative Commons Search engine.

New Photos Sites I Have Found Thanks to this Post

Stock.Xchng- Free Photos (I love this site, it might be my new go to)
Wikimedia Images- More free Photos-Yay!
Getty Images- They have tons of great free photos and some price options as well

Posts That will Help Educate you on Copyright Law and Blogger Do's &Don'ts

Roni Loren
Megan Ward
Parajunkee's BB101 Posts
Copyright Law/Government Website

UPDATE*********

Since yesterdays post I have been on a mission to find out about which pictures I can and can't use for a non-commercial website, or AKA- personal blogs, and Ill tell you fellow bloggers, its unbelievable the copyright laws being broken everyday by various websites. After everything Ive read, Im pretty much going to be using Creative Common pictures or my own moving forward on this blog.


After contacting a handful of TV networks about the use of using stills, video clips, TV logos and the sort, I have heard back from two, one a personal email and one directing me to the websites Terms of Use, which of course prompted me to read a ton of TOA's, which I should of done long before yesterday. Now Im not the expert on Copyright law nor the law in general, I am just going by the guidelines of one company's direction from an email and figured that the TOA's were a good place to start.

Here is some stuff I found out about the pictures I've personally been using:

According to FX,(a TV network) their terms state that any photos, stills and video clips are under copyright and trademark protection. Stills, Photos and clips of FX TV shows may be used/distributed or viewed for private or non-commercial viewing, so for example my few photos of Sons of Anarchy belong to the FX Network and as I've credited the FX station and this is a non-commercial site, where I receive no money for the posts I create, nor have I started my own show, and its strictly for viewing pleasure and spreading awareness of a certain TV show/actor is legal according to the terms of use or at least how I understood it. Im still waiting on a formal response, so I will revise this if needed.

ABC's terms of use are very strict, they say non-commercial, private use only and state that pictures, stills or clips cannot be changed or revised but used with express permission. So all those gifs people are using, that have content owned by ABC which is owned by Disney, totally illegal. Is it likely they will find all the gifs out there and go after you? No, probably not, but by law they can sue you for it. This company's terms of use is so detailed, Im afraid that even using a picture of a Walt Disney character without a credit and/or permission will get you in some major trouble. (the TOA was a tad confusing to read through and honestly I didn't understand all of it)

Focus Feature Films which is owned by NBC is a little more laid back, their terms of use state you can use movie posters and stills as long as credit is given, but says material cannot be revised. So for example all those movie stills that have bubble text on them, not legal, unless you have written permission from the company. Most of the Movie/Production picture companies I have researched all have similar disclaimer and Copyright polices. Stills of actors from movies seem to be a safe bet, and of course getting a photographers permission (if its a celebrity shot) is always a safe way to go to.

And now the sad one: According to the CW network, (shows like The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural) all photos and content, including stills, network photos and logos are prohibited to use on any other website. Which means, all your Vampire Diaries photos are copyright infringements, and Ive seen these on TONS of blogs. Now perhaps you can use pictures from a magazine if you quote the source and get permission, but anything from the CW according to the TOA is off-limits.

Most major corporations will have a Terms of Use Clause listed somewhere at their website, which will explain their personal copyright policy. If this helps with any pictures you have used Id encourage you check out TV network, Movie Studio, and production websites. 

**Fair Use- According to Wikipedia

Fair use is a limitation and exception to the exclusive right granted by copyright law to the author of a creative work. In United States copyright law, fair use is a doctrine that permits limited use of copyrighted material without acquiring permission from the rights holders. Examples of fair use include commentary, criticism, news reporting, research, teaching, library archiving and scholarship. It provides for the legal, unlicensed citation or incorporation of copyrighted material in another author's work under a four-factor balancing test.