Be weary of the Free part of Roalty-Free (RF). Here is something I learned this week and wanted to share. The light definitely went on for me regarding this topic!

What Does Royalty-Free Mean When It Comes to Photo's?

“The "free" in royalty-free does not mean there is no cost for the license, but instead refers to being able to freely use the image without paying additional royalties. A small-business owner, for example, may opt to pay a one-time fee for RF images for his website.”

"Copyright law protects the artistic value of original content including art, writing, music and much more. It does not require the artist to fill out any type of paperwork, and is automatically considered to be an intrinsic right the second it is created (not necessarily published)."

"Though the fair use doctrine, a law which allows for use of images as long as they don't affect the creator’s rights, and there is an allowance for many online publishing companies or writers to use certain images. It can be real murky waters, especially if the photos are taken in a private vs. a public environment."

Unless you are a creator like a photographer, graphic designer or freelancer using your own products, before utilizing or implementing any kind of work such as photo's or video's which you do not own, it is important to understand what your options are.

In a recently published article I reviewed the iStock, Pixabay and Shutterstock services. These sites and other's like them have plenty of guidance on the use of their inventory...my advice is PLEASE READ the fine print. Keep yourself out of trouble!

All three are excellent sources for images, photos, and videos, however all three require a fee of sorts. Some require a monthly subscription while others require a one-time payment for use of their products.

My overwhelming recommendation however, is to stick with their photo library available to us here at WA. I also made this recommendation in my post.

Remember, having to pay a fine can be very costly and embarrassing!

All the best,

TimMoto