Images and copyright online

Getting Started Newbie Questions
#1

Hello!
 

I have downloaded many images of celebrities for my app from imdb. Now it says on the website that you can’t use their images for your own projects. If I mirror the images I downloaded and the size of the image is very small when is the image the same? Can it become another image you know? Why can they hold the images when it is of other people? Isn’t it the people on the images that owns them? Is it safe for me to use these images in my app? What I did was screengrab some images from imdb and I have them in lowresolution. My app is done, I really want to publish it on the web.

Best regards, Elias

#2

IMDb does not own the copyright to the majority of images on its site BUT IMDb uses these images with the explicit permission of each of the copyright holders; which is most likely the individuals production or management company. Which is what you would need to obtain to legally use them in your app. 

To be perfectly honest, it’s highly unlikely you’d get permission to use photographs from most of these copyright holders, even if you took the time to contact each of them, which would no doubt be a lengthy and painstaking task in and of itself.

And no, you can’t screengrab an image and call it your own!

Edit: Actually, the copyrights to a lot of celebrity images will belong to Corbis. And they will aggressively pursue infringers. The most likely outcome of publishing your app anyway is a fairly immediate DMCA filed against you and your app being removed from sale. But it might not stop there; Corbis sued Amazon (for images on imdb, ironically) in 2003, seeking damages of $150,000 for every infringing image.

In other words, I really wouldn’t risk it if I were you!

#3

Generally, the person/company who took the photos (photographer) own the rights, not the people in the photos.  And no, you can’t just warp the images and call them yours.  You should seek permission before publishing your app.  

#4

Images taken by paparazzi though, who owns these images? If a paparazzi takes an image the one in the picture is not in agreement, is it legal to use such images?

#5

Regardless of the answer, this isn’t a law forum, nor will any answer provided be admissible as a defense in court. Meaning, whether a fellow indie dev does or doesn’t think you are within your rights, this thread isn’t going to help you if you get sued.

#6

For sure it helps to talk about.

#7

Of course, this happens all the time.  There are laws regarding how/where photos can be taken.  But again, the photographer is the owner, at least up until he sells the rights to somebody else (like Corbis)

#8

Ok thanks for the replys this clears up everything.

#9

press rights (paparazzi) differ from publicity rights (which would be your use), which differ from the rights conveyed to an author of an original work by copyright (which you’ve not acquired any license to yet).

for example:  even if YOU take a picture of Mel Gibson (for example) and thus own the copyright to that image, you still wouldn’t have any publicity rights.  for example, you can’t (legally) take your image to Zazzle and start printing “Mel Gibson Coffee Cups”.

#10

DISCLAIMER: Corona Labs cannot offer answers to legal questions like this.  If community members (or staff members) respond to this, they are doing so based on their own knowledge and advice.  They are personal opinions and do not represent Corona Labs.  
 

#11

IMDb does not own the copyright to the majority of images on its site BUT IMDb uses these images with the explicit permission of each of the copyright holders; which is most likely the individuals production or management company. Which is what you would need to obtain to legally use them in your app. 

To be perfectly honest, it’s highly unlikely you’d get permission to use photographs from most of these copyright holders, even if you took the time to contact each of them, which would no doubt be a lengthy and painstaking task in and of itself.

And no, you can’t screengrab an image and call it your own!

Edit: Actually, the copyrights to a lot of celebrity images will belong to Corbis. And they will aggressively pursue infringers. The most likely outcome of publishing your app anyway is a fairly immediate DMCA filed against you and your app being removed from sale. But it might not stop there; Corbis sued Amazon (for images on imdb, ironically) in 2003, seeking damages of $150,000 for every infringing image.

In other words, I really wouldn’t risk it if I were you!

#12

Generally, the person/company who took the photos (photographer) own the rights, not the people in the photos.  And no, you can’t just warp the images and call them yours.  You should seek permission before publishing your app.  

#13

Images taken by paparazzi though, who owns these images? If a paparazzi takes an image the one in the picture is not in agreement, is it legal to use such images?

#14

Regardless of the answer, this isn’t a law forum, nor will any answer provided be admissible as a defense in court. Meaning, whether a fellow indie dev does or doesn’t think you are within your rights, this thread isn’t going to help you if you get sued.

#15

For sure it helps to talk about.

#16

Of course, this happens all the time.  There are laws regarding how/where photos can be taken.  But again, the photographer is the owner, at least up until he sells the rights to somebody else (like Corbis)

#17

Ok thanks for the replys this clears up everything.

#18

press rights (paparazzi) differ from publicity rights (which would be your use), which differ from the rights conveyed to an author of an original work by copyright (which you’ve not acquired any license to yet).

for example:  even if YOU take a picture of Mel Gibson (for example) and thus own the copyright to that image, you still wouldn’t have any publicity rights.  for example, you can’t (legally) take your image to Zazzle and start printing “Mel Gibson Coffee Cups”.

#19

DISCLAIMER: Corona Labs cannot offer answers to legal questions like this.  If community members (or staff members) respond to this, they are doing so based on their own knowledge and advice.  They are personal opinions and do not represent Corona Labs.