Downloading A Photo

[2sp_]

I have seen a photo on a Facebook page that I would like a copy of. It's on a business page not a personal one.

Would I be breaking the law if I downloaded it and used it myself?

[bednobs]

The person who took the image retains copyright. Are you going to pass it off as your own? Are you going to make money from it? Is it going to come to wide public attention?

[daffy654]

Used it for what purpose? Could you ask the FB page if you can use it (if it is their property)?

[2sp_]

It's just a still from an advert. I was going to post it on our own business FB page, no money will be made from it and I wouldn't be claiming it as my own.

It was just a funny photo that I thought our clients would like.

I could "share" it from the original FB page, but I was wondering if I could avoid giving them the advertising on our page.

I was just curious about the legality of it.

[hc4361]

The copyright holder could ask you to remove it from your website.

I certainly would not use stills from another company's advert on my own business website.

[tamborine]

Have you had any queries with your avatar thistle image, which is as listed here? Images without copyright logo on the web are freely given imo. nb images on ebay are all copyrighted with their logo.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=image+thistle&client=firefox-a&hs=4PQ&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=CaGYUoSIGfHe7Ab7soCwCw&;ved=0CC8QsAQ&biw=1280&bih=691

[Zacs-Master]

I didn't think you could download things from FB?

[bednobs]

you just right click don't you? I wouldn't do it business wise, but if i were printing it for my sideboard, i wouldn't hesitate

[daffy654]

tambo, you couldn't be more wrong about the images on the web being free to use if they don't have a copyright symbol.

///Copyright is an automatic right and does not require the author to file special paperwork, as is the case for trademark and patent. Registration is required to enforce the rights, but as a matter of right, an author is not required to register anything to get the right to use the “circle c,” showing the work is copyrighted.///

///Copyright attaches as soon as the original work is created, and applies to both published and unpublished works. As soon as you type words, click the shutter on your camera (or, for many of you, hit the home button on your iPhone), apply paint to canvas or paper or lay down tracks for your next hit, you’ve got a copyright (with some exceptions).///
http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/copyright-fair-use-and-how-it-works-for-online-images/

[2sp_]

It's a minefield really, isn't it?

I wouldn't want to inadvertently break the law.

(I'm going to just share the link to my page anyway. Not bother downloading it and loading it back to my page.)

Thanks for that link, tambo. I'm now paranoid about images I've pinched off the internet!

[jomifl]

2sp, Although you say you wil not be making money from it, it could be argued that your intention of putting it on your web page is to profit from it even if not directly.

[atalanta]

There have been cases where someone has taken copyright material from one website and used it on another, without asking or paying. The original owners discovered it, and sent the offending companies or "borrowers" a large bill for ab/using their copyright. If that happened to you, you would have to pay up, or they could sue you, and you would not have a leg to stand on. The cost could be several hundred pounds at the very least, not to mention lawyers' fees.
In severe cases of breach of copyright, it could even be a criminal matter, and not just civil.