Copyright Enforcement Group

The Internet is the source of all your news, research, and entertainment requirements with no exception in the case of photographic images. Whenever you need to find an image, you can search for the name of a product, service, celebrity, or famous location and get plentiful results instantly. But can you use every image that you obtain through a web search? This a common question for majority of internet users who get confused when it comes to deciding which images to use and which not to use. Before you reach the peak of confusion, or get into trouble for using copyrighted images, it is important to have clear understanding of the issues.

As per copyright law for photographers within the United States, a photographer holds all rights on a photo from the moment he or she creates it and even more so when he or she registers a copyright. Registering a copyright is helpful in protecting photographers' images down the line if the photographer ever needs to claim damages for abuse or unauthorized use of images. Bottom line, no one should use photographs without permission from or compensation to the photographer.

Despite copyrights and photographer rights, unauthorized uses of photographic images are very much in practice all over the US and the World. Many internet users do not care or even think twice about copying images from other websites and using them for their purpose.

In a case where you are an internet user looking for legal ways to obtain and use images from online sources, you should always look for legitimate image agencies or stock photo providers and obtain a license to use the work. On the other hand, if you find it difficult to track down an image agency with rights to the particular image you are interested in you can simply send an email to the owner of the image directly and pre-request usage permissions. In either process, you will mostly likely find that you have to compensate the owner and obtain a proper license from them, but in the long run, it can save you from numerous legal complications and hazards.

On the contrary, if you are a photographer and find yourself becoming a victim of repeated copyright infringement of your images, you can take action. The easiest and most sensible choice is to outsource your image protection to an intellectual property protection firm. They can settle things quickly with infringers and recover lost revenues, usually at little or no cost to you. Copyright Enforcement Group which owns a settlement portal called CopyrightSettlements.com is a prime example and offers easy & hassle-free settlement options for both infringers and copyright owners. So, regardless of which category you fall into, photographer or internet user, you should consider all the issues regarding online copyright infringements of images and protect yourself accordingly.