Using images and/or music that is not yours can get you sued. I have talked to clients about this time and time again. Some didn’t know and many just don’t care. I’ve had two clients receive bills because they used a photo they found on Google. I’ve received a bill myself but was able to prove where I got the image.
1. Posting an image, a video or music that is not yours.
There are also some seemingly gray areas.
You can’t just grab something off Google and post it as your own. Because it’s on the web, does not mean it’s free to use. You should purchase your images , videos or music from stock sites. I use several different sites: DepositPhotos, StockUnlimited , a lifetime access that I got from AppSumo, Jana Bishop and SocialSquares are my favorites.
Pixabay and Unsplash are good sources of free images (you’ll find that many of the photo apps use them), but I’m not sure I trust those either. If a photo does well, sometimes the photographer pulls it and places it on a site for purchase. If you don’t have a record of when and where you got it, you’re still at risk of being sued.
2. Cropping an image in order to remove their logo.
Again, those photos aren’t yours to use. Don’t do it! On another note, you may want to watermark your own images in a place that can’t be cropped so that yours aren’t taken for reuse.
3. Reposting with a 3rd party app.
This is the gray area. You would think that it’s okay to repost if they make an app available for you to do it and many people justify it by saying that it gets the other account more reach when it’s shared. That could very well be true, but in reality, it’s only okay if you’ve gotten permission from the original poster to do so.
You’ll notice that some brands ask influencers if they can use a photo and if so comment #yes (with a certain hashtag attached).
Instagram itself, makes it easy to share posts (if the account is public) to your stories or to certain people. I think this is another gray area, but we’ll see what becomes of it soon enough.
It’s best to use your own photos or good quality photos that you have purchased and kept tabs with a record.
4. Using copyrighted music in your videos
Theoretically, even using copyrighted music in your background could get you sued. For instance, if you’re posting a video of your daughter’s dance recital and there’s a copyrighted song in the background, you’re in violation of copyright. Often, once you post that video on social media, the music can’t even be heard. Social platforms such as Facebook remove it automatically.
There are copyright-free music sites and apps that provide copyright-free music.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out!