Use of Images

[Adammo]

Hi all,

I apologize but I thought of something else and am wondering how other people handle it.

Although I have not decided on a niche, I am thinking about a sports jersey page containing the history of various teams. One thing I do need to have (in order to create a nice looking website) is images of the various jerseys. When I used to create personal websites this was a non-issue, but now that I am creating a website to hopefully make some money on, I do not believe I can just take any image.

I believe that if I am accepted to a merchant I could use their images, but what about beforehand when constructing my site?

Thanks for any clarifications and sorry again to be such a bother.

 

[Linda Buquet]

When I used to create personal websites this was a non-issue, but now that I am creating a website to hopefully make some money on, I do not believe I can just take any image.

Even on personal sites, you can't just use other people's images. It's a copyright violation.

I believe that if I am accepted to a merchant I could use their images, but what about beforehand when constructing my site?

Even after being accepted you could not just use a merchant's images (unless they offered product affiliate image/links or datafeeds) . At least I wouldn't try it without getting written permission. So definitely not before hand. I'm not really sure the best way to get images like this. Maybe you could buy some via a stock photography site.

 

[djbaxter]

Even stock photos won't necessarily solve the problem, because the trademark/copyright for team jerseys is owned by the team and the league. And they will use litigation to protect that trademark/copyright, in part because they must if they want to retain ownership.

This isn't just about the big guys bullying the little guys because they can. If you don't defend ownership of an image, the courts may well decide that you have abandoned your rights to that image or logo.

It's a bit like the laws governing ownership of a private road or right of way: You have to close it and bar access, usually for some period of time every year, or it becomes public property.

 

[Linda Buquet]

Even stock photos won't necessarily solve the problem, because the trademark/copyright for team jerseys is owned by the team and the league. And they will use litigation to protect that trademark/copyright, in part because they must if they want to retain ownership.

Oh good point! I forgot about that aspect.

 

[Adammo]

So to me it sounds like I am SOL in terms of a jersey website? I can't see myself getting permission from the big leagues, and I don't think stock photography would do.

Any hints on how others get away from this? I could go with an equipment site for a particular sport like hockey, golf, or baseball, but I would think i'd run into the same potential issue.

I believe I could find good stock photography for exercise sites, but again not too sure.

Thanks again for any advice...just not sure what others are doing.

 

[djbaxter]

Not necessarily. If a company is legitmately mareketing team jerseys, for example, they will have obtained the rights to use the logos and images of the products to market them.

In that case, I would guess that you would be able to arrange to use the specific product images as an affiliate of the company producing.

As for what others are doing, I know there are sports forums that just use the images anyway. But some of them haverececived cease and desist orders with the threat of litigation once they become big enough to be known.

 

[Adammo]

In that case, I would guess that you would be able to arrange to use the specific product images as an affiliate of the company producing.

As for what others are doing, I know there are sports forums that just use the images anyway. But some of them haverececived cease and desist orders with the threat of litigation once they become big enough to be known.

The only problem I can see is trying to get accepted before having the images from a merchant. But I will certainly give it a try if I go down this path.

I figure the worst that can happen is recieving a warning from someone. Don't want to get into too much trouble in my first venture

 

[Adammo]

Can you use images if you display copyright info, or leave a snippet of text indicating that the images don't belong to you?

I've thought about creating my own banner for my WordPress blog, but am not sure if I would be allowed to grab a collection of images from different sites and blend them together to form my own?

 

[djbaxter]

No. Not without prior permission from the owner of the copyright.

 

[Adammo]

Thanks for the quick reply .

Although I understand why from the company point of view, it certainly makes it difficult to construct a nice image surrounding the niche of choice. I guess my best approach would be to look for relevant stock photography?

 

[djbaxter]

Yes. That would be my recommendation.