Small firms have been warned by the Forum of Private Business (FPB) to check the copyright of images used on their websites following an increase in copyright infringement complaints.

Having received a surge of recent calls regarding this issue, the FPB are aware of numerous small businesses that have been charged for using images that they did not realise were copyrighted.

Web design companies that source images used on small business websites should be seeking permission for the usage, however in many cases this is not the situation and the liability for copyright infringement falls on the small business who commissioned the work.

FPB Chief Executive, Phil Orford commented: “We’ve received a number of calls recently from small firms who have been notified by Getty Images that they owe money because they are, however unwittingly, using unlicensed images on their websites.

“I think the digital age has blurred the boundaries of image copyright in many people’s minds and some business owners mistakenly think that because an image is freely available on the internet, it can be reused without permission.”

He continued that, today’s technology has made it increasingly easy and cost-effective for copyright holders to track the use of their images.

The Forum has issued the following advice to small firms in order to help avoid copyright infringement:

  • Just because an image is on the internet does not mean it is free to use. The copyright will almost always belong to the person who created the image, regardless of whether it’s accompanied by a copyright symbol.
  • Don’t think you won’t be caught out as modern software means it’s quick and easy for copyright-holders to track the use of an image.
  • Speak to your design agency and ensure they have licensed all the images on your website. Ask to see proof of these rights or purchase them yourself.
  • Understand the image rights and time period attached to the image.
  • When you buy from a stock photography website, you are usually not buying the image but a right to use it in a certain way.

 

A quick and simple solution is to use images offered under the Creative Commons license – these can often be used for commercial purposes on the condition that the original creator is credited, as you’ll see below.

Photo by Horia Varlan – CC