|
|
|
 |
About Our Free Stock Photo Collection, Public Domain, and Copyright Law |
|
It is a good idea to question the origin of "Free" stock photos. You or your company could be held liable for
publishing copyright protected content. The GeekPhilosopher stock photo collection is assembled
from our own studio, public domain, and expired copyright photos. Several photos have been altered with cropping,
creative filters,
color corrections, or general repairs. Note that photographs including people have an
important restriction. If a person is recognizable in the photo, you cannot legally use
the image for commercial purposes, even though the photo is in the public domain.
|
The GeekPhilosopher has made a good-faith effort to ensure that this photograph selection is free of all copyright restrictions.
However, we do not guarantee the collection to be copyright-free and
assume no liability or responsibility for any copyright infringement errors.
The following description of our collection will help you make an informed decision concerning its use.
|
|
1.
|
GeekPhilosopher photography studio: These photos are labeled
"Photo courtesy of GeekPhilosopher.com - your premier source for free stock photos."
We took these photos and we own the copyright. You are free to do whatever you want
with these photos except redistribute them.
|
|
|
2.
|
Federal Government: Although there are exceptions, works of the federal government are in
the public domain (see item 8 in Copyright law. Who needs it?).
Each site from which we obtained these photos explicitly stated that they are public information.
The list below links to the pages which identifies the content as public information.
The verbage at each site is similar to this notice from the Air Force, "Information presented on Air
Force Link is considered public information and may be distributed or copied. Use of appropriate
byline/photo/image credits is requested." These photos are labeled as follows:
"Bureau of Land Management photo courtesy of GeekPhilosopher.com" - Bureau of Land Management
"EPA photo courtesy of GeekPhilosopher.com" - Environmental Protection Agency
"NASA photo courtesy of GeekPhilosopher.com" - NASA Image Exchange
"U.S. Air Force photo courtesy of GeekPhilosopher.com" - Air Force Link
"U.S. Army photo courtesy of GeekPhilosopher.com" - Army Link
"U.S. Centcom photo courtesy of GeekPhilosopher.com" - Centcom
"U.S. Defend America photo courtesy of GeekPhilosopher.com" - Defend America
"U.S. DOD photo courtesy of GeekPhilosopher.com" - Defense Link
"US Fish and Wildlife photo courtesy of GeekPhilosopher.com" - USFW National Image Library
"US Geological Survey photo courtesy of GeekPhilosopher.com" - U.S. Geological Survey
"U.S. Marines photo courtesy of GeekPhilosopher.com" - Marines
"U.S. Navy photo courtesy of GeekPhilosopher.com" - Navy Newstand
"National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration photo courtesy of GeekPhilosopher.com" - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
"National Park Service photo courtesy of GeekPhilosopher.com" - National Park Service
"USACE photo courtesy of GeekPhilosopher.com" - US Army Corps of Engineers
"USDA photo courtesy of GeekPhilosopher.com" - USDA
- additional USDA photos - USDA
"USDA NRCS photo courtesy of GeekPhilosopher.com" - NRCS
"NASA STScI photo courtesy of GeekPhilosopher.com" - Space Telescope Science Institute
"Mineral Management Service photo courtesy of GeekPhilosopher.com" - Mineral Management Service
"USBR photo courtesy of GeekPhilosopher.com" - US Bureau of Reclamation
"US Customs & Border Protection photo courtesy of GeekPhilosopher.com" - US Customs & Border Protection
"Ben's Guide photo courtesy of GeekPhilosopher.com" - Ben's Guide to U.S.Government
"OSHA photo courtesy of GeekPhilosopher.com" - U.S. Dept of Labor OSHA
"ARM photo courtesy of GeekPhilosopher.com" - Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program
"Administration on Aging photo courtesy of GeekPhilosopher.com" - Administration on Aging
"cancer.gov photo courtesy of GeekPhilosopher.com" - cancer.gov
"National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health photo courtesy of GeekPhilosopher.com" - National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health
|
|
|
3.
|
Public Domain:
These photos are labeled as follows:
"Jon Sullivan photo courtesy of GeekPhilosopher.com" - Jon Sullivan:
Jon Sullivan is a rare breed, a true Renaissance guy, who takes excellent photos and has released them into
the public domain.
"Teaching Politics photo courtesy of GeekPhilosopher.com" - Teaching Politics
|
|
|
2.
|
Expired copyright: Generally, the copyright has expired on materials created before 1923
(see item 8 in Copyright law. Who needs it?).
Images which we obtained from the Library of Congress have expired copyrights.
Expired works of art have an additional caveat. When someone produces a photo that is
indistinguishable from other photographs of the same work, the photo is not considered an original art
creation. Therefore, the photographer does not hold any copyright on the photo itself (see WebMuseum,
Paris Copyright
laws around the world ).
That said, the GeekPhilosopher art images are obtained from ibiblio,
"a diverse and expansive collection of information on the Internet, created and maintained by the public,
for the public.":
"Nicolas Pioch photo courtesy of GeekPhilosopher.com" - Nicolas Pioch
|
Most photo sources request a photo credit. This professional
courtesy should be extended. The credit does not have to appear on the same page as the photo,
but your web site should have an active page that acknowledges the source of its photos.
We appreciate links to GeekPhilosopher as well:)
It is not permitted to offer downloads of the GeekPhilosopher images.
|
|
|
|
|
|
