Social Media Marketing All-in-One For Dummies. Michelle Krasniak
Читать онлайн книгу.the rest. Not text, not graphics, not compiled data, not photos. Nothing. Nada. Nil. Zilch.
Though small text extracts with attribution are permitted under the fair use doctrine, the copyright concept is intended for individuals and educational institutions, not for profit-making companies. If you don’t obtain permission, you and your company can be sued for copyright infringement. In the best-case scenario, you can be asked to cease and desist. In the worst case, your site can be shut down, and you might face other damages.
The way around this situation is simple: Send a permission request, such as the one in the nearby sidebar, “Sample copyright permission.”
Be especially careful with photographs, which are usually copyrighted. Here are a few places to find free or low-cost images legally:
Select from the wealth of material offered under a Creative Commons license (http://creativecommons.org
). Search for items that can be used for commercial purposes or are in the public domain.
Search for copyright-free images from the federal government.
Take advantage of all the free, high-resolution images from Unsplash (https://unsplash.com
).
FreeImages (www.freeimages.com
) has thousands of free photographs.
Search http://images.google.com
: Click the Settings link in the bottom-right corner of the window, and then select Advanced Search from the pop-up menu that appears. In the Advanced Search screen that appears, scroll down to the Usage Rights drop-down list and select Free to Use or Share, Even Commercially. Note that these images may still require attribution or have other limits on use; you should still contact the copyright holder for permission.
Look for stock images from sources such as iStockphoto (www.istockphoto.com
), Shutterstock (www.shutterstock.com
), or Freerange Stock (http://freerangestock.com
).
SAMPLE COPYRIGHT PERMISSION
Dear _____:
Watermelon Mountain Web Marketing wants permission to use your (information, article, screen shot, art, data, photograph) on our (website/blog/social media page) at [this URL: WatermelonWeb.com] and in other media not yet specified. We have attached a copy of the information we want to use. If it meets with your approval, please sign the following release and indicate the credit line you want. You can return the signed form as an email message, a PDF file, a digitally signed document, a fax, or a first-class mail message. Thank you for your prompt response.
The undersigned authorizes Watermelon Mountain Web Marketing to use the attached material without limit for no charge.
Signature:
Printed name:
Title:
Company name:
Company address:
Telephone/fax/email:
Company domain name:
Credit line:
Trademarks and logos also usually require permission to use, though the logos (icons) that social media companies provide for Share This or Follow Us On functionality are fine to use without permission. If you find an image in the Press or Media section of a company’s website, you can assume that you have permission to reproduce it without further permission. Generally, a disclaimer that “all other logos and trademarks are the property of their respective owners” will suffice.If it’s illegal offline, it’s illegal online.
Respecting privacy
Providing a disclaimer about keeping user information private is even more critical now that people sign up willy-nilly online. Individual privacy, already under threat, has become quite slippery with the Facebook Connect sign-in available on all sorts of third-party sites. Facebook Connect may make sign-ins simpler for a user, but it gives Facebook access to user behavior on the web while giving third parties access to users’ Facebook profiles for demographic analysis.
Photographs of identifiable individuals, not taken in a public space, historically have required a waiver to use for commercial purposes. When individuals post their images on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, or elsewhere, they may not intend to give permission for that image to appear elsewhere.
Respect a person’s space; do not post publicly viewable images of people’s faces on any of your social media pages unless you have permission. For a simple photo waiver, see www.nyip.edu/photo-articles/archive/basic-model-release
.
Revealing product endorsement relationships
Taking aim at companies that were arranging paid recommendations from bloggers, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) updated its regulations for digital advertising, including blogs, in 2013. The rule (found at www.ftc.gov/sites/default/files/attachments/press-releases/ftc-staff-revises-online-advertising-disclosure-guidelines/130312dotcomdisclosures.pdf
) and guidelines (at www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/native-advertising-guide-businesses
) require bloggers to disclose whether they’ve received any type of payment or free products in exchange for a positive review. For more information, see https://amylynnandrews.com/how-to-disclose-affiliate-links
.
The rule doesn’t appear to apply to individuals who post a review on public review sites (such as TripAdvisor or Yelp), but it applies if you review other companies’ products on your blog or send products to other bloggers to request a review.
You can find out more about this requirement from the disclosure resources listed in Table 4-4. Some bloggers, offended by the rules, have found humorous or sarcastic ways to comply. Others, such as The Review Stew (www.thereviewstew.com/p/disclosures.html
), whose blog appears in Figure 4-7, are simply matter-of-fact about it.
TABLE 4-4 Legal Resource Sites
Name | URL | Description |
---|---|---|
American Bar Association |
www.americanbar.org/groups/intellectual_property_law/resources.html
|
Intellectual property resource lists |