Today in the photo lab one of my associates found herself in a disagreeable conversation with a customer.
The customer had downloaded pictures from a website of a well known politician and had printed them.
Upon being informed that this was illegal and the pictures fell under copyright law the customer immediately replied "No they don't, I downloaded them from the internet."
There seems to be some confusion with people about exactly what is the law when it comes to downloading pictures from the internet. Most seem to assume that the pictures are "in the public domain" or that there is no copyright as they were posted on the internet.
This couldn't be farther from the truth.
The truth is that by law you don't have the right to reproduce anyone's photos without their permission - professional or otherwise.
The person who took the photo owns the copyright.
The only time you have the right to reproduce the photo is if you have the copyright owner's written permission to reproduce said works.
Violating the copyright law is an offense with heavy penalties and fines.
That said I am referring to modern and recent photos. Antiquated photos and their copyright is much more complicated.
So please do not print photos from the internet at your local photo lab and get angry at the employee when they tell you you can not reproduce them. You may see nothing wrong with reproducing your favorite photo of *insert famous person's name* but to the associate violating the copyright law is not an option and in fact could mean penalties, fines and their job.
Useful links:
The 7 deadly myths about Internet Copyright
by Attorney David L. Amkraut
http://webnet77.com/webstuff/copyright.html
Copyright in the Digital World - by photo industry attorney Philip Moilanen
http://www.allbusiness.com/legal/litigation/206140-1.html
Copyright page from the PMAI (Photo Marketing Association International) website of the Worldwide Community of Imaging Associates
http://www.pmai.org/content.aspx?id=6572
If you have any questions please feel free to leave them in the comments and I will answer them to the best of my ability.
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