4 thoughts on “Will Social Networks Kill Stock Photography?”

  1. These unfair Terms are in use on many other websites already. I think our local newspaper (part of News Ltd) has similar terms on its site.

    The problem for people that might use photos from these services (and some current sites) is that there is no guarantee the rights owner uploaded or authorised the photos availability.
    These less careful sites usually require in their Terms that anyone that uses any of the content accept sole resposibility for their use AND defend the site in court from any liability.

    1. Hi John, thanks for commenting! 🙂
      Instagram definitely didn’t invent such terms, but I’d bet most of Instagram users have never bothered reading it – just like most users of most applications. Anyway, the terms also say the following:

      “You represent and warrant that: (i) you own the Content posted by you on or through the Instagram Services or otherwise have the right to grant the license set forth in this section, (ii) the posting and use of your Content on or through the Instagram Services does not violate the privacy rights, publicity rights, copyrights, contract rights, intellectual property rights or any other rights of any person, and (iii) the posting of your Content on the Site does not result in a breach of contract between you and a third party. You agree to pay for all royalties, fees, and any other monies owing any person by reason of Content you post on or through the Instagram Services.”

      You are totally right about users uploading content not owned by them, whether it’s on Flickr Creative Commons collection, Facebook or Instagram for that matter. At least on Instagram the terms do put the responsibility on the uploader, not the user (as far as my understanding goes – I’m not a lawyer, not even close).

      I actually don’t know if Flickr terms are similar on this matter. If they are, I wonder what happens if a John Doe uses a photo under CC license on Flickr, when the photo was actually uploaded without right to do so. When Mr. John Doe gets sued – would he really be able to dodge the bullet and pin it on the uploader? That’s the major question I think!

  2. And this is why everyone should use stock libraries if they are using images for commercial use. If you need images to enhance your website then pay for them. If the price is too high then don’t use images. You have to determine how much more income you can get by adding photos. Simple as that.

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