This is true. IANAL but I was a paid photographer at various points. My understanding is that if you use a photo that you don't have the rights to accidentally you can still be liable. This post seems to concur: http://www.contentfac.com/copyright-infringement-penalties-a...
The nice part of using going through a photo agency or pro photography that despite the extra paperwork and cost, you know you have the rights.
When Virgin Mobile used a photo of a young girl that was licensed by the photographer as Creative Commons on Flickr, she and Wong sued Creative Commons, Virgin Mobile USA, and Virgin Mobile of Australia. They eventually dropped the other plaintiffs and went after VM of Australia: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12...
But in any case, the user of the photo ended up paying the most legal bills, even though the photographer had given implicit permission.
One thing that Unsplash has going for it is that all submitter of photos also have to log in with Facebook, so there's an extra barrier preventing someone from turning in a random photo. I mean, you can still do that while logged in, but that's work to impersonate someone.
I just signed up an am about to upload a photo. Will let you know if there's a special thing that I have to sign.
edit: signing up and uploading photo just tells you to read the Terms before uploading...I'm guessing there's something that protects Unsplash from a user uploading maliciously https://unsplash.com/terms
> The nice part of using going through a photo agency or pro photography that despite the extra paperwork and cost, you know you have the rights.
They say that you have the rights, but "pro" photo sites have also been found guilty in the past of either intentionally or not, misappropriating and onselling copyrighted images that they had no right to.
Perhaps the terms of agreement will protect you as the end user (purchaser) of those images, but will it in all cases? Could the fact that you purchased copyrighted images in a commercial transaction actually make it worse as it opens you up to punitive damages or other legal action?
Sure...but you'll get what you pay for. It's unlikely that Getty, Mangum, Ford Models, etc, is going to risk screwing over their reputation or their photographers. But you go through a "pro" on Craigslist, then who knows
Wow, I am surprised Virgin Mobile used that photo without a model release, which is kind of orthogonal to the copyright.
At least in the US, a photographer can grant use of a photo, but if the photo isn't for editorial use -- if the person in the photo could be considered advocating what the picture is selling -- they need a release from the subject: http://www.danheller.com/model-release.html
The nice part of using going through a photo agency or pro photography that despite the extra paperwork and cost, you know you have the rights.
When Virgin Mobile used a photo of a young girl that was licensed by the photographer as Creative Commons on Flickr, she and Wong sued Creative Commons, Virgin Mobile USA, and Virgin Mobile of Australia. They eventually dropped the other plaintiffs and went after VM of Australia: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12...
https://www.flickr.com/photos/sesh00/515961023/
They seem to have lost the lawsuit: https://wiki.creativecommons.org/wiki/Chang_v._Virgin_Mobile
But in any case, the user of the photo ended up paying the most legal bills, even though the photographer had given implicit permission.
One thing that Unsplash has going for it is that all submitter of photos also have to log in with Facebook, so there's an extra barrier preventing someone from turning in a random photo. I mean, you can still do that while logged in, but that's work to impersonate someone.
I just signed up an am about to upload a photo. Will let you know if there's a special thing that I have to sign.
edit: signing up and uploading photo just tells you to read the Terms before uploading...I'm guessing there's something that protects Unsplash from a user uploading maliciously https://unsplash.com/terms