Are you plagiarizing pictures without even knowing it?
When I first started writing this blog a little over two months ago, copyright and plagiarism were far from my mind. Who was going to read this blog and care (more emphasis on the former than the latter)? Or if anything, should I be worried I haven’t copyrighted my own material (because let’s be honest, everything I type is nothing short of pure gold… hahaha)?
Then as I started posting away, I began wondering about pictures on the internet. Do these qualify as copyright infringement? They come up in Google pics so shouldn’t these just be free images to use? Can life really be this amazing and easy?
Knowing how lawyers work, the answer is an emphatic: NO. Plus, this is something that I didn’t want to mess around with at all. I just wanted to type out some thoughts and post them on the internet for fun and a few laughs. Nothing serious. Simple enough, right?
Do we condone ignorance as an excuse?
Originally, I went about my business trying to use my own photos for my blog that I had snapped on my iPhone. But as you spend more time on the internet you start seeing pictures that, hey, that would be perfect for this or that post I’m working on. It sums up my thoughts in one perfect little visual aid. I’ll just use it this one time and the rest will be mine. No big deal. There’s no traffic on my blog anyway, and if anything, I’m helping promote that image – I bet the artist will love this last argument!
But the more you start posting you get lazy or you can’t find the right picture in your photo library that will convey that perfect optic message you’re trying so hard to capture, so you start grabbing images off the web again. Before you know it, half of your posts are not your own pictures.
Holy shit! How did this happen?
Life get’s full… that’s how.
Of course I argue, but I’m busy. I work 60+ hours a week. I’ll go back and change all the pictures when I have some time. My intentions are good and I don’t want to rip people off. Well, that’s a partial fib. My intentions are good, but I fear being sent nasty lawyer letters or being fined a lot more than I care about someone’s copyright infringement on an image posted on Google pics – just have to be honest there. Because this is capitalism baby, the consumer comes first in America. It’s all about me, right?
Hahaha… you thought good ol’ Q-FI was immune to the pressures of the outside world, well, you’re wrong. Even the Gods must play by the rules sometimes.
Anyway, so life goes on and I don’t change anything.
Then I recently read this blog post by Michelle at Making Sense of Cents, “3 Super Common Legal Mistakes Bloggers Make (and How to Fix Them),” and it jogged my memory back to worrying about the pictures I was using again.
How often do we trick ourselves into thinking that we are better people than we actually are?
I think on average I’m a pretty good guy, I try to do the right thing when no one is looking and my sense of fairness is pretty high. So why have I cared so little about using these pictures in my blog posts that I didn’t take?
I don’t know. Convenience? Being so far removed from the transaction? The if I’m the only one doing it nothing really matters kind of flawed logic?
Regardless, I have no problem admitting when I am wrong. And your good old bud Mr. Q-FI is guilty of taking the easier softer way. I made a mistake and I will fix it.
So here’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to go back to all my old posts and replace any pictures I took from the internet with my own photos. Sure, this is going to be painful and take some time – I do really like some of the pictures I have used. But I think I need to nip this bad habit in the but before it goes too far.
When you are wrong, admit it right away and make amends or apologize. Don’t let it sit and fester. This is hard to do at first, but it gets easier as the habit forms with practice.
Moving forward, all the photos on this blog will be taken by me on my iPhone X. Why I commit to these things that only make life harder for me, who knows. And yes, by my iPhone X mention, I don’t have the latest iPhone 11 to woo everyone with BLOGTASTIC picture technology. But I don’t really give a fuck, because I’m simple, and I like it that way. Plus, buying a new iPhone wouldn’t be too FI… or would it? (J/K)
Now, I’m no angel – you learned this clearly in my addiction post. So when all these corrections will happen, I can’t commit. I’m shooting for the beginning of December so I’ll have the Thanksgiving break to work on it. But life is wild, shit happens, snipers from the moon can try to invade your house. Who knows, all kinds of crazy shit can drop from outer space.
This is my slippery way of saying… I’ll do my best to right this wrong, in a reasonable timely manner.
Adios plagiarized internet pictures, you have served me well and may you continue to flourish without this blog and the 20 people who might have actually read it.
-Q-FI
P.S. I rarely see any posts about this topic, what photos you can or can’t use on your blog or social media, but if you happen to read this and are an attorney or know anything about it, please share in the comment section below.
Leave a Reply