[Sabrina]

What are the rules in terms of using other images on Photobucket?

If I search for an image, am I allowed to use it (the link), or am I supposed to save it to my own album? Is that even allowed?

Can someone please clarify for me?

Thanks in advance.

[Perna]

Maybe this will help? http://tutorials.photobucket.com/tutorial_150.html

Looks like you have to have images in your account and use those. I imagine it will let you "steal" images other people have or that are on the Web, even without the owner's knowledge/approval, that's pretty much a moral issue?

[Sabrina]

Thanks Perna! I will check out the link. (I suppose I could have done that in the first place- forgive me for being a bit lazy!)

Yes, I have noticed that one can simply copy an url or link to anyone's image - that goes against my moral grain though, which prompted me to ask.

Ok, forgive me again as I haven't looked at the link just yet but surely copying someone elses image to one's own album is also stealing?

[Perna]

I think you should be able to e-mail the person or contact them and tell them how much you like the image and ask them can you "have"/use it! If they give their permission, that's great! The biggest thing with using images on the Web and copyright laws is that you have to be making money where you use the image. If you "borrow" (steal :-) someone's image for your site and it's making money for you because people see/like it and shop on your site, etc. and the owner can show it is clearly theirs; they will ask/tell you to take the image down/off your site. If you don't, they can sue you and probably win so you'll be forced by law to take it down. The big businesses (especially Disney and other cartoon sites, etc.) have to do that often. But a lot of images are so often used and never challenged that no one knows anymore whose they are. It's just polite though to ask someone if you can use their image.

And it's never a good idea to just take the link to an image and post that as that is "bandwidth theft". People who own sites have to pay for the "space" they use and the more or larger images and neat stuff, the more espensive the site is for them. In addition though, they're usually charged depending on how many visitors they have to their site so, using their link to their site means wherever you post it, people will literally be referenced to their site to see it but the owner won't get traffic to the whole site, just the use of that picture which people won't know is from another site! So the owner gets charged for all those people looking at "his" picture but doesn't get any benefit of people actually being at his site and doesn't even know where the picture is being referenced.

Usually though if you're just downloading a picture you find on the Web to your Photobucket account because you really like the picture and enjoy looking at it yourself, etc. I do that sort of thing sometimes without asking and don't feel too guilty :-) I get funny e-mail pictures/cartoons from friends/my sister-in-law and I save them to my machine and send some on to other people or post them, etc. sometimes. It gets very hard to know where something comes from sometimes and who to ask, etc.

[Sabrina]

Yes, it really is a tricky business, isn't it? Fortunately (I suppose), I am not earning an income at all - I was asking purely because I like posting hugs and pictures like that - here.

I always make a point of searching "free" sites, but these are getting hard to come by now (without some sort of catch, that is), hence my query about photobucket - there is so much - readily available ......

Anyway - I will definitely take some time (tomorrow) into reading the link you posted.

Thanks Perna!!

[SeptemberMorn]

Sabrina, I have a Photobucket account. You're free to use anything there, but with one condition; that it's not a picture of me or my family members. LOL

I do have some avatars and other cute/funny pics. I'm like Perna, if I get a pic I like through my email, I save it to Photobucket so I can use it later.

[Rhapsody]

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Sabrina0805 said:
What are the rules in terms of using other images on Photobucket?

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