Vauhini Vara of the The Wall Street Journal reports today that photo agencies are actively pursuing people who use their images without permission. Cheap and easy image-search tools are allowing people on the Internet to appropriate images without having to pay for them. Last year alone, according to Vara, Corbis recovered over $1 million in fees from people using their images illegally.
Photo agencies are turning to companies like Digimarc Corp. of Beaverton, Ore., to embed "digital watermarks" on images. Once watermarked, a free software program lets users read the encoded images to see if they have been used in violation of copyright laws. Another company PicScout makes a business of recovering copyright violations for a fee.
According to Vara, some fair use of images still applies without breaking any laws. Some websites, like this one, are allowed to use images for educational purposes under U.S. copyright law guidelines. Vara explains:
Not all Web site owners who use photos without permission are breaking the law. The "fair use" guidelines in U.S. copyright law provide exemptions for some cases, such as when an image is used for educational purposes.
Understanding of the the Fair Use doctrine is far from being settled. A U.S. government document makes this point clear:
Although the courts have considered and ruled upon the fair use doctrine over and over again, no real definition of the concept has ever emerged. Indeed, since the doctrine is an equitable rule of reason, no generally applicable definition is possible, and each case raising the question must be decided on its own facts.
Thanks to Andy Goetze's Stock Photo Blog for following this issue.