Copyright uses, fair uses, and infringements are a vastly misunderstood source of law with significant misinformation out there in the universe. One piece of misinformation that I have seen get businesses in trouble is the theory that if you attribute a copyrighted work to someone, you are not infringing. This is not true.
Copyrighted works are original works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression. This includes blogs, articles, photos, comics, and videos. The person who owns a copyright in those items (usually the creator) has the exclusive right to use, distribute, copy, or create derivative works from their copyrighted items. Doing one of those things without permission is infringement of that person’s copyright. (There may also be a defense to that use, but that’s a topic for another day.)
The ease of obtaining information on the internet has made it very easy for people to add a cute picture, video, or link onto their own content while generating marketing or educational materials for their clients or industry. Many believe that if the source link is posted, that will be enough to not be infringement. This is not true. If you are (1) directly copying an image, link, sentence, paragraph, or other item onto your site, (2) creating a work around that item, or (3) otherwise distributing that item, you need permission, not attribution. That may mean you need to pay for that usage. It definitely means you should get permission in writing.
While there may be exceptions and defenses to this rule, when in doubt, get permission!
by Samantha Peaslee
