Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Pinterest, Blogging and Copyright

Photo by Tim Young for House to Home


I’m a relative newcomer to the Pinterest bandwagon. A few weeks back, I finally took the plunge and have slowly been adding my thousands of images saved in inspiration folders here on my computer to my Homely One Pinterest boards.  I've found it so convenient to store all the great ideas I come across online for things I'd like to try as well as being a great source of inspiration.  My Pinterest boards are a bit like visual bookmarks for me.

I’ve always wondered about the copyright laws regarding images we use on our blogs and now, the images we ‘pin’ on our Pinterest boards. Back when I participated in Holly’s ‘Blogging My Way Course’ we touched on this subject and the term ‘fair use’. Since that time, I have preferred to ‘play it safe’ when using others’ images. If the blog from where I wish to use something doesn’t have a copyright statement, I try to email the blogger first to see if they mind whether or not I use their image in one of my blog posts, of course with a link back and a credit to them as the photographer. With images of products either found on Etsy or other online stores, I’ve always been of the mindset that posting photos of their products is ‘helping them’ by possibly driving more traffic towards their site and in a way providing free advertising. I figure if I’m sharing a product I’d like to buy with my readers and so long as I’m not writing anything negative, the shop owner wouldn’t mind. Occasionally however, I’ll stumble across a photo I just love and on the odd occasion, I’ll use it anyway.

However, when it comes to Pinterest, I hadn’t really considered the copyright regarding use of images. Until the other day when I read a post on My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia. Kristen raised this issue with her readers and referred to a post by The Knoed which I think is really worth reading if you own a Pinterest account. I’d love for you to read it and give me your opinion. Here are a few points taken from their post which made me think:

• Pinterest’s Pin Etiquette says to avoid self-promotion on the site, but its terms say we must be the sole owner (or have permission from the owner) to pin things. This is confusing. How does Pinterest suggest people use its site without getting in trouble?

• Is pinning something with a link back to the original source considered safe to pin? Or do I still need permission from the owner?

• How do I find out if something I want to pin is copyrighted or not?

• If I repin someone else’s pin, and it happens to infringe on a copyright or end up being sold, am I liable for repinning a pin? Who is responsible in this instance?

I realize this is all extremely unlikely and I’m not going to go cancelling my Pinterest account or anything like that. However in the meantime, I think as I am starting out pinning, I will just be a bit cautious about what and from where I pin at the moment until this issue is made a bit clearer. So long as I’m not passing off something that’s not mine as my own creation or painting something in a negative light, I don’t really see too much of an issue arising, but I am going to try and be more vigilant about paying credit to the original image sources of things I find. Hopefully, the way to go about things without infringing on copyright will be made clearer for all us ‘pinners’ as I really do think Pinterest is a wonderful resource and have come across many inspiring ideas, great products to buy and wonderful new sites through using it for only a few short weeks. The latest post on this issue here is also worth reading.

Draw from all this what you will. I’d love to know your opinion on this matter and how you view posting images which aren’t your own on your blogs…

In the meantime, here’s a few things I’ve pinned this week…


DIY washi tape magnet tutorial (image from Christine @ Just Bella)


A stunning bedroom on Elle Decor (Photographer: Grey Crawford  Designer: Michael S. Smith - image featured in: A Designer's World - May 2010

A great Easter activity with a free egg outline printable - photo by Bianca @ A Little Delightful 

15 comments:

  1. Hi Amanda, I like your thoughtful post. I too am a pinner and whenever I use images from Pinterest in a post I take lots of time to go back as far as I can to try and reach the original source. Sometimes it takes forever. I agree, I think the main issue is Fair Play.

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  2. Ooooh I love that bedroom!

    I'm a pinner too and I try to pin from the original source - the link always goes back to them. Every image I use on my blog I try to attribute to the original owner, but sometimes I can't find them and I admit I do the 'via Pinterest' or 'via weheartit' business. Not cool.

    I generally think that if an owner is serious about copyright, they tend to make it so their images can't be downloaded or copied and they have a wash on their photo. Not always, but often.

    Great post, Amanda! x

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  3. People have pinned photos off my blog without my permission. In the case of boggy friends I don't mind at all but as for the others it irritates me to the point of feeling itchy!!! x

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    1. Did you know you can see if people have pinned anything off your blog by searching the following way?...

      http://pinterest.com/source/homely-one.blogspot.com/

      ...only replace my blog address with your own.

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  4. Ah yes, another reason i avoid Pinterest, not only would i get trapped there for months looking at all the gorgeous images, to get in trouble would do my head in. Love Posie

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  5. What a goodie, Amanda! Excellent points and ones I'm grappling with as well. I need to set aside some time to review my pins and delete those I'm worried about. I always try to find the original source but sometimes it's impossible. I'm now following all your boards! J x

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    1. That's what I did yesterday - anything where I couldn't find the original source, I've just kept in my own personal 'inspiration folders' :) Fortunately I've only just started pinning so it didn't take me too long.

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  6. I am a Pinterest addict and I try very hard to pin from the original source as I like to see the original context of the image. I find it really annoying when I find something I like and can't find the original owner.
    But I have no problem with people pinning my images in fact I encourage it, even if eventually it will get lost and not be credited back to me I still get a kick out of other people seeing it.

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  7. I've read a few posts on this very topic recently and it is definitely food for thought.
    x

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  8. A confusing little dilemma alright. Technology seems to move faster than our understanding of all the intricacies and pitfalls involved.
    Penny

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  9. I do love Pinterest as a great source of inspiration though I've decided that blogging is about as much as I can keep up with. I think like you said as long as you honour the original source then it should be fine, you've certainly made some great points. I'll have to stop by and see what you've been pinning now. xx

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    1. I was already saving lots of images anyway so it hasn't really taken up any more time for me, just made it easier to store things I come across.

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  10. hi Amanda..being a pinterest addict for some time,i also read kirsten's blog and made me think diferently about copyright,i always try my best to get to the source when i pin..great post hun:) xx

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  11. Thank you for this useful post! Most of us have the same questions.

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  12. Hi Amanda
    Thanks for commenting on my blog. I am a confessed pinterest addict myself, pop over and see my boards, I'm popping over to follow you...

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