legality of using images from Google searches in productions

[Walter Biscardi]

[Ruby Gold] “I’ve thought about using stock, but, in addition to being prohibitively expensive, stock images look like stock images–they don’t look like real people, and wd not be right for my productions.”

Prohibitively expensive? You can get shots for $1 each at iStockPhoto.com or $65/year at ClipArt.com

Unless you have written permission from the owners of the images you are using, you are NOT using the images legally.

Walter Biscardi, Jr.
https://www.biscardicreative.com
HD Editorial & Animation for Food Network’s “Good Eats”
HD Editorial for “Assignment Earth”

“I reject your reality and substitute my own!” – Adam Savage, Mythbusters

[Ron Lindeboom]

Walter is right, your productions are not legal if you are grabbing images online and using them.

BigStockPhoto.com also has images for $1 or so.

Best regards,

Ron Lindeboom

[Ruby Gold]

Thanks Walter–guess I was looking at the wrong sites–they were insanely expensive, and, as I said, look like slick stock images. Thanks a lot for these sites–at least it addresses the expense problem. BTW–am I correct in my assumption that stuff shot in public domain space can be used legally any way you want–correct?

thanks for the help-

[Walter Biscardi]

[Ruby Gold] “Thanks Walter–guess I was looking at the wrong sites–they were insanely expensive, and, as I said, look like slick stock images.”

You were probably looking at sites like Getty which are very expensive. iStockPhoto has been a sponsor of the Cow for quite some time now and I use their photos all the time.

[Ruby Gold] “am I correct in my assumption that stuff shot in public domain space can be used legally any way you want–correct?”

What do you mean “public domain space?” Never heard that term.

Walter Biscardi, Jr.
https://www.biscardicreative.com
HD Editorial & Animation for Food Network’s “Good Eats”
HD Editorial for “Assignment Earth”

“I reject your reality and substitute my own!” – Adam Savage, Mythbusters

[Ron Lindeboom]

[Ruby Gold] “I was looking at the wrong sites–they were insanely expensive, and, as I said, look like slick stock images. Thanks a lot for these sites–at least it addresses the expense problem.”

Oh, most of these $1 a shot sites look *anything but* like slick stock images. In fact, you have to sort through a lot of filler to find quality stuff if you want it. If you are looking for the more uncontrived look, there’s tons of that there on most of these sites.

Best regards,

Ron Lindeboom

[Ruby Gold]

Thanks Ron. I went to the two sites Walter suggested and the Big Stock site as well. They are far less expensive than the Getty Images and other like sites I was looking at, but after doing preliminary searches for the kind of things I need on iStockPhoto or BigStock, they seem to run anywhere from 2.50 to four bucks or so a shot after subscribing. The ClipArt.com subscription was $169/year, so I’m not sure what Walter meant about being $65.

Also, maybe I just need to look harder, but after this preliminary look, the photos definitely looked like posed, well-lit stock photos to me, not much of a verite look that I could find, which is what I need. But, maybe I just need to look harder.

Walter–in answer to your question–I used the wrong term, ‘public domain.’ I was referring to the right to take photos of anyone in public space such as a street, sidewalk, park, etc.

Again–thanks for both of your responses.
Ruby

[Tim Wilson]

[Ruby Gold] “am I correct in my assumption that stuff shot in public domain space can be used legally any way you want–correct?”

Alas, the answer is “almost certainly not.” Just a handful of examples:

–Many buildings are trademarked: Empire State Building in NY, the Trimerica building in San Francisco among many others. I’m aware of many dozens of them, and I’m sure there are many, many more than that. You’re not allowed to use images of them in any commercial work — no ads, no stock photo/video collections, etc.

–Many of the pictures you might think are in the public domain (say, a photo of Michaelangelo’s David that you saw in a junior high textbook in 1968) are simply not (dimes to donuts it’s one of the ones that Getty owns).

–The public domain also shifts. “It’s a Wonderful Life” is one of the best examples of a film that fell into the public domain….very, very briefly. Somebody owns it again. “The public domain” isn’t a safe or sound principle.

There are differences between stepping on a copyright (oops, I tripped) and stepping on a trademark (oops, I’ve fallen into the bowels of hell and there’s a demon drinking blood from my skull)…but the short version is that there’s really not much at all that you’re free to use any way you want.

That’s why it’s always best to buy images with very, very clear licenses. This isn’t to annoy you, but to protect you.

As others have pointed out, doing the right thing — the safe thing — doesn’t have to be expensive.

[Walter Biscardi]

[Ruby Gold] “The ClipArt.com subscription was $169/year, so I’m not sure what Walter meant about being $65.”

Must have gone up, be even still, that’s a very low cost if you use a lot of images.

[Ruby Gold] “They are far less expensive than the Getty Images and other like sites I was looking at, but after doing preliminary searches for the kind of things I need on iStockPhoto or BigStock, they seem to run anywhere from 2.50 to four bucks or so a shot after subscribing”

That’s incredibly cheap. Some shots are $1 per shot, which I use a lot of. I gladly spend $2.50 to $10 per image when doing projects. If these are too expensive for your projects, you need to raise your rates.

[Ruby Gold] ”

Walter–in answer to your question–I used the wrong term, ‘public domain.’ I was referring to the right to take photos of anyone in public space such as a street, sidewalk, park, etc.”

Sure you can do that all day long. Just in some places folks might get upset and require you to sign some paperwork or require a waiver. Some “public places” are in reality owned by someone and legally considered a “private location.” So if you’re shooting some video or stills and someone comes along and asks you to leave, be polite and move on. Works everytime.

Walter Biscardi, Jr.
https://www.biscardicreative.com
HD Editorial & Animation for Food Network’s “Good Eats”
HD Editorial for “Assignment Earth”

“I reject your reality and substitute my own!” – Adam Savage, Mythbusters

[Ruby Gold]

Love the ‘oops I tripped’ versus ‘bowels of hell’ comparison. ;-}

Yeah, I know that many buildings are trademarked and that the other kinds of things you mentioned are definitely NOT in public domain. As well, many works of art that land in public domain after however many years get snapped up the Gettys and Turners of the world. I understand that.

What I meant was shooting ordinary people walking by on the sidewalk, in the public arena (not through an office building window or dressing room), and using the shot/footage in a production. My understanding is that this is quite legal.

[John Davidson]

Hey guys,

I think everybody should check this out. It’s a Photographer’s Rights PDF that everyone with a camera should carry multiple copies of in your case, bag, or wallet. Very very informative. I was actually surprised about the things you could get away with….

https://www.krages.com/phoright.htm

John Davidson____ writer | producer | director____https://www.magicfeatherinc.com