Can I Use That Picture?

We always like to add a picture or photos to our genealogy reports, blog posts, and social media, but don’t always have the exact picture we want in our own photo collection. Recently I came across some very good information that is quite relevant to the genealogy community.

MakeUseOf.com wrote an excellent article on the subject called “Concerned About Copyright? A Guide for Legally Using Images On the Web.” which you can access by clicking the link.

A picture’s worth

And in a fairly simple flow chart, I also found the following graphic posted several places online.

Source: use-copyright-picture.jpg (2550×1650)

Be nice

Nobody likes to have find their grandmother’s picture adorning someone else’s blog post, so please always be considerate and follow both the laws AND the rules of common etiquette when using photos, pictures, or artwork that you didn’t create originally yourself.

And if you do find grandma’s picture online, please be nice. Not everyone understands copyright laws, and most violations are unintentional.