Are you?
I was happily following the crowd on Pinterest.com re-pinning pictures I thought were lovely into various "boards." Then I thought about what I was doing and deleted all boards with Pins from others. It's called COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT people! Probably 90% of the pins on Pinterest.com are pictures stolen from websites.
I then read the Terms of Use on Pinterest.com and found I had agreed I would only pin images for which I owned a valid copyright. I also agreed to "hold them harmless" and pay for an attorney for me AND THEM if we/they were sued. OMG! This is NUTS! Read the Terms of Use friends!!!
Here is a juicy paragraph from the terms [italics mine]:
"You acknowledge and agree that you are solely responsible for all Member Content that you make available through the Site, Application and Services. Accordingly, you represent and warrant that: (i) you either are the sole and exclusive owner of all Member Content that you make available through the Site, Application and Services or you have all rights, licenses, consents and releases that are necessary to grant to Cold Brew Labs the rights in such Member Content, as contemplated under these Terms; and (ii) neither the Member Content nor your posting, uploading, publication, submission or transmittal of the Member Content or Cold Brew Labs’ use of the Member Content (or any portion thereof) on, through or by means of the Site, Application and the Services will infringe, misappropriate or violate a third party’s patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret, moral rights or other proprietary or intellectual property rights, or rights of publicity or privacy, or result in the violation of any applicable law or regulation."
If you are using Pinterest.com and pinning other peoples work, a good portion of which is stolen, you are stealing too and can be prosecuted for copyright infringement.
But, loads of people are doing it, right?
Yep! However, if you only knew the glee with which some photographers sue infringers (rightfully so, I might add), you will get any images you've pinned from others off Pinterest.com as soon as possible. If a photographer with a registered copyright decides to sue Pinterest.com and you by proxy, YOU will have to pay the fines and attorney fees for Pinterest and you. You agreed to that when you checked "yes" to the Terms of Use upon creating your account.
Here is the indemnity clause at Pinterest.com [italics mine]:
"You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold Cold Brew Labs, its officers, directors, employees and agents, harmless from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses, including, without limitation, reasonable legal and accounting fees, arising out of or in any way connected with (i) your access to or use of the Site, Application, Services or Site Content, (ii) your Member Content, or (iii) your violation of these Terms."
Valid registered copyright infringement cases sometimes result in HUGE PUNITIVE FINES (six figures or more), not to mention the very sizable attorney fees! Want to lose your house? Do you want to take the chance? Not me!
I still have a Pinterest.com account. However, I currently only post pictures of my books, hoping people will steal the pictures and post them all over the web, giving me free advertising in the process. Any actual pictures I post on Pinterest in the future will be ones I do not mind other people pinning all over creation. If I own the copyright to an image, I am safe in pinning it. However, if YOU repin it, and I catch you ... whoooooeeee! ;-)
What a dangerous world we live in!
Keep on capturing time...
Darrell Young
www.PhotographyWriter.com
I was happily following the crowd on Pinterest.com re-pinning pictures I thought were lovely into various "boards." Then I thought about what I was doing and deleted all boards with Pins from others. It's called COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT people! Probably 90% of the pins on Pinterest.com are pictures stolen from websites.
I then read the Terms of Use on Pinterest.com and found I had agreed I would only pin images for which I owned a valid copyright. I also agreed to "hold them harmless" and pay for an attorney for me AND THEM if we/they were sued. OMG! This is NUTS! Read the Terms of Use friends!!!
Here is a juicy paragraph from the terms [italics mine]:
"You acknowledge and agree that you are solely responsible for all Member Content that you make available through the Site, Application and Services. Accordingly, you represent and warrant that: (i) you either are the sole and exclusive owner of all Member Content that you make available through the Site, Application and Services or you have all rights, licenses, consents and releases that are necessary to grant to Cold Brew Labs the rights in such Member Content, as contemplated under these Terms; and (ii) neither the Member Content nor your posting, uploading, publication, submission or transmittal of the Member Content or Cold Brew Labs’ use of the Member Content (or any portion thereof) on, through or by means of the Site, Application and the Services will infringe, misappropriate or violate a third party’s patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret, moral rights or other proprietary or intellectual property rights, or rights of publicity or privacy, or result in the violation of any applicable law or regulation."
If you are using Pinterest.com and pinning other peoples work, a good portion of which is stolen, you are stealing too and can be prosecuted for copyright infringement.
But, loads of people are doing it, right?
Yep! However, if you only knew the glee with which some photographers sue infringers (rightfully so, I might add), you will get any images you've pinned from others off Pinterest.com as soon as possible. If a photographer with a registered copyright decides to sue Pinterest.com and you by proxy, YOU will have to pay the fines and attorney fees for Pinterest and you. You agreed to that when you checked "yes" to the Terms of Use upon creating your account.
Here is the indemnity clause at Pinterest.com [italics mine]:
"You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold Cold Brew Labs, its officers, directors, employees and agents, harmless from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses, including, without limitation, reasonable legal and accounting fees, arising out of or in any way connected with (i) your access to or use of the Site, Application, Services or Site Content, (ii) your Member Content, or (iii) your violation of these Terms."
Valid registered copyright infringement cases sometimes result in HUGE PUNITIVE FINES (six figures or more), not to mention the very sizable attorney fees! Want to lose your house? Do you want to take the chance? Not me!
I still have a Pinterest.com account. However, I currently only post pictures of my books, hoping people will steal the pictures and post them all over the web, giving me free advertising in the process. Any actual pictures I post on Pinterest in the future will be ones I do not mind other people pinning all over creation. If I own the copyright to an image, I am safe in pinning it. However, if YOU repin it, and I catch you ... whoooooeeee! ;-)
What a dangerous world we live in!
Keep on capturing time...
Darrell Young
www.PhotographyWriter.com
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