Small business must use lawful images

Small businesses must ensure that the images on their website are not copyrighted, it has been warned.

A warning, issued by the Federation of Private Business (FPB) urges small businesses to check that they are legally entitled to use the images on their website, in order to safeguard against costly copyright claims.

Small businesses often fail to understand that they will be held liable for any copyright infringement on their website; even if a web design company sourced and uploaded the image.

It has come to light that several businesses have received letters from powerful copyright holders demanding payment for inadvertently using copyrighted pictures. Getty Images is one of the largest stock photography companies and it actively pursues copyright infringement involving its images.

FPB’s chief executive, Phil Orford said he thinks the digital age has blurred the boundaries of image copyright.

“Some business owners mistakenly think that because an image is freely available on the internet, it can be reused without permission.”

He continued to explain how recent advancements in technology means it is increasingly easy and cost-effective for copyright-holders to track the use of their images. This is why small businesses really need to be careful.

The FPB advises all small businesses to only use images within their rights and avoid using images found on the internet if they want to avoid receiving a letter through the post demanding money or threatening legal proceedings for copyright infringement.