I write for the web at both of my workplaces. Naturally, we include images in our articles- given that I write predominantly about fashion and beauty, two very ‘visual’ industries, images are a necessity. So how do copyright laws apply to me?
At Couturing, I am generally sent a press release and a folder of high res images. Either myself or one of my writers will then turn the press release into an article. No copyright laws broken so far- we’re taking the information we’re given and turning it into good press for the designer (always linking back to the PRs website and the designers website- ’tis the nature of networked media). Then we add in the images. Here’s where it gets tricky. Looking back at previous posts, we always link back to the designer whose clothing we’re featuring, but rarely do we credit the photographer or the model. That said, the photographer and/or model are rarely mentioned in the initial information we’re sent. So, is the responsibility ours (Couturing’s) or does it lie with the PR agency?
At Get The Look for L’Oréal Paris, we are licensed to purchase images from Getty and French image hosting site Abaca Press. We physically pay to use these images, and comply with their licensing laws. I wonder, though, if it’s legal to then share these images on related social media platforms… the images are watermarked, and “right click saving” an image from another website means I obviously won’t be getting the original high res image, but where do we draw the line?
On instagram, I’ve taken photos OF photos- say, a photo of a photo in a magazine (see below).
….or a photo of a photo on a laptop….
In both of these instances, I’ve tagged the original publisher. I’ve not credited the photographers, but again in both instances, the original publishers (Vogue Australia and Elle Australia) have “regrammed” my post. Does this count as giving consent? As a practising networker, it’s important for me to establish where to draw the copyright line.
