Sue Me

An up and coming blogger sent me a message asking me how I go about getting the sources for my photos in order to give credit to the owner. Very good question. Because, we all know there are those certain individuals that go cray cray when their work isn't sited.

I am in the process of editing photos, because I'm super behind on my posts from the weekend. I haven't done my weekly wrap up and was planning on doing it today. But since I am totes behind on the editing, and this brought up a subject that has been bugging me, I think I am going to do a post about permission to use other people's photos. 

It's a complete grey area. When you find pictures on google, sometimes it's so hard to find their true sources. And now with Pinterest, it's getting to be a legal issue. I have read two articles this past week about Pinterest's contract. You know, the one that you have to agree to to get an account with them? You did read that, right? No? Me either. I usually never read those things, I just click accept and go on my merry way. 

Then I read this article from Knoed. Pretty darn scary stuff. By accepting Pinterest's terms and conditons, you basically agree that if you upload someone else's photo (without giving credit to the owner) to their website, you can get in some serious legal trouble. And you also agree that if you upload one of your own photos, they have the rights to sell your stuff. So, my picture of the Christmas tree skirt I made is now theirs to do whatever they want. WTF? Yea. Exactly.

                                                                                Source: knoed.com via Coffee on Pinterest

But, then again, I put stuff on the internet for people to see and use. Here is an article from The Business Insider that freaked me out so bad that I had to comment on it, and I very rarely comment under news articles. Here's what I said: "This is just completely ridiculous. People need to get off their high horses and realize not everything is a legal issue. Watermark your precious photos. That's what I do. If you put something on the internet, it stays. But, it gets moved, looked at, talked about, used, copied, downloaded, pasted, edited, and loved. Get over it. It's the nature of the game. That's why the internet is such a great playground. You have the ability to learn and find out new things without it being forced down your throat."

Since I am still pretty new at this blogger life myself, I am learning new things every day. Of course I didn't think it was a free for all, taking pictures from here and there, then posting on my blog without giving credit. I remember doing all my term papers in high school and twenty page papers every other week in college. I sourced like a mad woman. So why would photos on the internet be any different? I don't know. 

I do know that I am proud of my photos that I take. I put them on my blog so people can enjoy them, too. I most definitely wouldn't sue you if you used them. Prom. But then again, I really don't want a huge corporation selling my ish, either. Like they need more monies.  

In the end, I love the idea behind Pinterest, but I'm seriously thinking about closing my account until they fix their terms and conditions. I'm trying to be diligent with my photo creds. If I don't have a source, and you see something that you know who it belongs to, send me an email and let me know. I do have a "clause" in my About me section up there that states: "Blog Etiquette (or lack there of): I have tons and tons of images stored on my computer, and I can't always find their source. So, if you are the owner of a particular photo on my blog and wish to claim credit or have the photo removed, just let me know. I'll be happy to edit or change the photo. Unless otherwise specified, I do not claim ownership of all the photos shown on my blog. There are a lot I wish were mine.. One day. One. Day."

The gist of today's post is to either come up with your own work, or best make sure you give credit where it's needed. If not, you might have a lawsuit on your hands. I hate sounding like a negative Nancy. I'm trying to be a realistic Rhonda. 

Ugh. Enough of this real talk. Tomorrow I'll be back with photos of last week. My photos. Bam.