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Huff Post Licensing Images? Nope - they just need Google.


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I've been checking the Canadian edition lately, and they are using a lot of images from Getty and microstock agencies, as well as some from Facebook and even Twitter and YouTube.

 

However, here is a link to an Alamy photo in the Quebec (en francais) Aug. 2nd edition:

 

http://quebec.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/08/02/les-quebecois-sont-ils-gentils-sondage_n_3697644.html

 

OR

 

http://i.huffpost.com/gen/928914/thumbs/r-KINDNESS-large570.jpg?6

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Everyone is sourcing images the cheapest way they can these days.  The BBC used to use Getty a lot (still do use them), but also source images from Geograph, Flickr, Google (street view, maps, etc.), mobiles from the public and they increasingly use stills from videos.

 

While all this is worrying to some degree, I think that some businesses/organisations will increasingly try to remove themselves from the mass of info available on the Internet by marking themselves out as exclusive/premier in some way and move over to subscription models to access certain (if not most) content.  Subscribers will expect to see and read quality for their money and that's where the sales will come.  Web users are much more savvy these days and will be fully aware if images have been obtained freely or if other content is rehashed from other sources.  It's just not in the interest of businesses to provide a cheap service when customers are paying: no-one likes to feel ripped-off!

 

Only my opinion of course - just trying to put a positive edge :) !

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What exactly does it mean if Google is given the photo credit?  Where is the photo coming from?

 

Not sure, but I do seem to remember a while ago google was giving away stock images to its google drive users for free - via some deal with a stock agency (getty I think).

There was a big uproar at the time, not sure what happened in the long run.

 

Its either that, or worse case scenario, someone actually believes that any picture found on google is free for  the taking.

 

If its the first stock image scenario then Im a bit confused, as I seem to recall those images were only for use in google created documents/slides etc, surely huff post does not

create its content online in google?

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What exactly does it mean if Google is given the photo credit?  Where is the photo coming from?

 

Presumably, it means they did a Google search for the image, Google found it on a website, and the Huffpost decided to use it for the story.  They failed to click further on the link to figure out who to license the image from.  It also means they are not searching image libraries - but Google instead.  I am willing to bet if called on it, they are going to attempt to claim "fair use".

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Google licences images, for peanuts

 

That's where they came from

 

...or nothing.  I just did a Google image search for the chocolate cake image by 'Google' on HuffPost and found it (among other places) here: http://www.clker.com/clipart-chocolate-cake-slice.html

 

Clker's T&Cs page says:

 

"Clker.com is an online sharing service where users share free public domain vector cliparts, or share public domain photos and derive vector cliparts from those photos using clker's online tracer."

 

Users of the site supposedly upload their images to Clker and thereby release them into the public domain.  Are all images uploaded the property of those who upload them?  I doubt it, and I would venture to suggest that if Google have indeed released these images to HuffPost, then they are on very dodgy ground - can't see them doing it somehow can you?  I'm tempted to think that this is an error on the part of a HuffPost employee.

 

Both the other images are on many image-sharing Websites, too.

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False alarm boys & girls.

 

The images come from Professor Dennett's Ted Talk and yes that's exactly what fair use is for.

Despite the Berne Convention, there are quite some differences in copyright law around the globe, but afaik everywhere there is an exception for images used in teaching and critical discourse.

 

It could be argued that he uses these images here on this page for commercial reasons: to sell his product or his brand so to speak. I don't think he has anything to fear from that.

But does he have a release for the Corolle doll? Maybe they're French creationists ;-)

 

wim

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Ah yes...fair use.  I was told images of mine that had run in the Daily Mail, and which were pirated and copied onto blogs (with no compensation to me) fell under "fair use" because the blog asked for opinions from the general public.  Not so fair to me :angry:

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False alarm boys & girls.

 

The images come from Professor Dennett's Ted Talk and yes that's exactly what fair use is for.

Despite the Berne Convention, there are quite some differences in copyright law around the globe, but afaik everywhere there is an exception for images used in teaching and critical discourse.

 

It could be argued that he uses these images here on this page for commercial reasons: to sell his product or his brand so to speak. I don't think he has anything to fear from that.

But does he have a release for the Corolle doll? Maybe they're French creationists ;-)

 

wim

 

Aaah - the penny drops.  Well done, you're a true detective, sir!

 

I guess that Prof. Dennett got the doll image from http://www.liveandlearn.com/corolle/charmingpink.html, where they sell 'educational and classic toys'!

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When I found one of my images (unlicensed) on Huff Post - Canadian edition, they ignored my requests regarding the image use and in the end, I referred it to my Canadian IP attorney. They didn't claim "fair use" (because they couldn't) and they eventually paid me a great deal more had they licensed the image in the first place. The same image was also in their US edition and they also ignored me. My US attorney thought that, as it was considered "editorial" and the image was not registered with the USCO, it was not worth pursuing. So, yes, I am not surprised when the image source is "Google". Sheila

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Google licences images, for peanuts

 

That's where they came from

 

...or nothing.  I just did a Google image search for the chocolate cake image by 'Google' on HuffPost and found it (among other places) here: http://www.clker.com/clipart-chocolate-cake-slice.html

 

Clker's T&Cs page says:

 

"Clker.com is an online sharing service where users share free public domain vector cliparts, or share public domain photos and derive vector cliparts from those photos using clker's online tracer."

 

Users of the site supposedly upload their images to Clker and thereby release them into the public domain.  Are all images uploaded the property of those who upload them?  I doubt it, and I would venture to suggest that if Google have indeed released these images to HuffPost, then they are on very dodgy ground - can't see them doing it somehow can you?  I'm tempted to think that this is an error on the part of a HuffPost employee.

 

Both the other images are on many image-sharing Websites, too.

Wonder if Sirita who posted the cake image on Clikr has the right to do so, as it's being offered for sale on a micro I hadn't heard of: http://www.featurepics.com/online/Chocolate-Cake-Picture-243227.aspx  and by the same tog on Dreamstime http://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photo-slice-chocolate-cake-image1973740.

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While there might be some truth to this if we were talking about Dennett's personal site, Huffington Post is definitely a commercial venture and they're the ones using the images.

 

This isn't a "Professor" talking to a grade school class, it's a big commercial media company. 

 

The images come from Professor Dennett's Ted Talk and yes that's exactly what fair use is for.

t could be argued that he uses these images here on this page for commercial reasons: to sell his product or his brand so to speak. 

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http://www.microstockgroup.com/general-stock-discussion/huffpost-does-google-now-sell-stockphotos/msg336485/#msg336485

 

HP responded to the matter

The Huffington Post has received a number of complaints regarding the use of Google-credited photos on this post:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dan-dennett/cute-funny-sexy-cognitive-science_b_3692072.html
 
The Huffington Post appreciates your concern, and your emails calling this situation to our attention.  The Huffington Post respects the intellectual property rights of others, and acts expeditiously in response to complaints of the unauthorized use of content.  In this case, our research showed that the article in question was created by a third party making use of our blogging platform.  As soon as we were made aware of the use of photos credited to “Google” in the article, we contacted the third party to let them know, and have taken the photos down and replaced them with photos from one of our licensed providers.
 
Please be assured that The Huffington Post takes intellectual property rights very seriously, and we sincerely appreciate having your additional eyes on our pages to help spot the occasional inadvertent error.
 
Please let us know if you have any additional questions regarding this matter, and we will respond as soon as we can.
 
Regards,
 
The Huffington Post Copyright Team

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