Label photo legality question

[jeanie353]

I am at a crossroad of switching my candles from a rustic/country look to a more modern look. I had been making and printing myself kraft labels. Now I want to make clear labels similar to Slatkin or Yankme that have a pic on the clear label or under the clear label.

I do not know if I can copy a picture from a Google image search for my labels or if I would be breaking a copyright law. I tried going to Flickr but ran into some really strange people there. Maybe it was my own fault asking the wrong questions but I'm staying clear of that place.

I changed my jars, wax and found a good line of awesome fragrances, re-did all the testing (2 yrs worth) and am ready to rock again but am stuck on this label pic thing.

Any help would be much appreciated.

[Scented]

If it isn't your photo then you need to pay someone (the owner of it or stock company that has it) the fee that they want so you can use it. That is the proper way to do it.

Or if it is an individual, then ask them for permission to use his/her photo.

Edited August 14, 2011 by Scented

[jeanie353]

That is some of what I found searching for the answer to this which is how I ended up at Picasa. The pics are designated as to whether or not they can be copied and used, limited use, etc. On the ones designated for anyone's use, I still emailed and asked permission. That is where I ran into some odd replies. No one was nasty but some were...ummm..let us say looking for something other than picture sharing. So I got the heck out of there and kept searching for the answer.

Thank you Scented for your answer. It is what I thought but I also heard there were free ones on Google Images. I just didn't know how to decipher which was which.

[EricofAZ]

Do a search for "royalty free" and if you find any photos you like, make sure they include commercial use. There are a ton of royalty free images on the internet. Then don't get upset if someone else selects your same royalty free photo for their candles.

[Scented]

Even free ones, I still think it is polite to ask. I can't imagine what you ran into and don't wanna

Just in working for a newspaper, we go out and ask for permission for every image that does not belong to us, whether free or not (except for the company that we do pay a service fee to for graphics). It protects us when we publish. It also makes us more respectible to others in our line of work. It's better to be covered with some form of written permission from the originator.

Edited August 14, 2011 by Scented

[sporadic]

If you didn't take the photo, then it isn't yours to use either online or in print. You would either need permission from the photographer or purchase stock images.

[JanetsCandles]

One of the major concerns with it is that sometimes the royalty free sites have some photos that are uploaded by someone other than the original artist. In cases such as that, it's very difficult because you can still be held liable by the original artist under copyright laws. Also sites such as picasa or google image don't always have the original artist posting the images. It's a sticky minefield with copyright and images. Just be sure you do the research, and if you are asking permission to use a picture, keep the response you get. Make sure it is in writing and if it is an email, keep it for the duration of the use of that image, plus some time. You may need it.

[jeanie353]

I am beginning to think I should re-think my label design to stay on the safe side of things. I take extra precautions in every area of my candles so surely don't want to make a wrong step on the final touches.

Thanks all for your input

[EricofAZ]

The phrase "royalty free" and "stock images" mean the same thing. You will have to subscribe to a service and then you can use what they offer. There might be some nominal fee, but it won't be like buying the image for exclusive use. Others will be able to use the service and the same image.

I would be wary of any royalty free sight that didn't have a fee or agreement for you to enter into. If its just out there, it may be true and it may be stolen, you don't know.

I also agree that it is better to have the photographer's permission, but I am pretty sure you will never get that information from the royalty free sights. They buy thousands of photos from photographers and then enter them into categories for their customers to browse. They should maintain purchase information, but probably won't pass that on to the buyer.

There are also some government royalty free sites where park rangers, etc, have taken pictures and uploaded to a gov't site for free distribution. Generally, the gov't doesn't charge a fee.

There are some new laws about using photos that make it easier for folks to take them. The user has to make a good faith effort to find the photographer/artist. If so, then the artist is limited on what they can do. It is kind of a "sign your work or lose out" law.

That said, anyone that lifts a photo off another website that is not royalty free has clearly violated the copyright laws and can get pounded, so I'd want to make sure I printed out the agreement and receipt.

[jeanie353]

Great info....thanks Eric

[jluper7297]

What kind of picture are you wanting? Have you thought of taking the photo yourself? Or having someone take the photo for you?

[MissMori]

...ummm..let us say looking for something other than picture sharing..

:laugh2:I wanna know!

There are subscription services that allow you to purchase images for exclusive use... a bit pricey and it doesn't prevent anyone from using the image that purchased it as non-exclusive use prior to your purchase.

[jeanie353]

jluper....I had in mind photos to match the fragrance. I could take a nice picture of an apple pie but that is about the extent of my photo taking expertise. I've decided to stay with clear glossy w/o any photos and have been working on a template today. I purchased the labels a few months ago. My Kodak printer is doing a terrible job printing on these but I have a HP here I'm going to try later or tomorrow.

MissMori.....I wouldn't of minded paying for a subscription service to get the images. My concern was getting them the right way without violating any laws as well as not having someone come behind me and copy my labels with those pics.

Oh, and on some reply emails I received from Flickr when I asked permission.....you really don't want to know...trust me :embarasse

[jluper7297]

I was only asking because I dabble in photography and I am pretty darn good. I was just wondering if taking ones own photos was something others had tried, as I may try it myself should I ever decided to go into business with this candle thing.

[jeanie353]

That is great....you could make yourself some awesome labels that you know no one else would already have duplicated or be able to take from you.

[EricofAZ]

I use computer graphics software a lot and I have a history of photography as a hobby as well. So yeah, I probably would only buy a photo if it was a last resort. My label is actually a computer graphics image that has zero photography in it. It is pretty easy for me now to create objects and move the camera around and set up a background and establish the lighting that I want and then render the image.

Sadly, I just don't have the time to play as much as I'd like. I bought Vue D'Spirit 7 Extreme last year at the SIGGRAPH show and just got around to loading it and upgrading to the current 9.5 last month. I haven't even begun to make anything custom with it yet.

[jackbenimble]

I was only asking because I dabble in photography and I am pretty darn good. I was just wondering if taking ones own photos was something others had tried, as I may try it myself should I ever decided to go into business with this candle thing.

I have decided to start doing this as well. I did have pictures to represent the scent but lately I have decided to make little vinettes that represent each of my candles. They have turned out pretty well so far. I only have a few more to do for my main line. Then I will start working on my holiday scents. I'm hoping this will look better to people that see my website instead of scent pictures.