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Usage Permissions and Copyright Information

I recently updated the Copyright and Usage Permissions for photos displayed at GaryGardiner.com and WestervilleLife.com.

Each page now displays the following set of rules and requirements for using my photos.

I’ve decided it is near impossible to prevent personal use on Facebook and personal Web sites. What I can try to prevent is commercial use without proper compensation.

My photos are licensed for use by individuals and businesses. Read more about Copyright Information and Usage Permissions

The rules are easy to understand.

Personal Use – If you like the photo I shot of you, you are welcome to use it on your personal Facebook page or personal Web site. Keep my copyright notice and include a link to my Web site. Use the photo as an avatar or a profile photo at Linkedin or Twitter. Let me know that you are using the photo so I can keep accurate records of its locations. If you any advertisements on your page use the business license information below.

Business Use – If you’re a business with a Facebook Page, you must obtain a license. I you want to use them on your Web site, you must obtain a license. Using my photos without a license is not Fair Use. It is commercial usage. If the intent is to use my photos to help draw traffic to a Web site which has advertising or to proclaim a product or process that may enhance a personal or business bank account, the photo needs properly licensing. Commercial use also requires a model release for publicity and privacy rights for any persons appearing in the photo.

If you’re not in the photo you want to use you still need to get permission from the photographer to use it in any way this includes a personal Web site. There is a fee for usage.

Prints – Printing requires a license. You may not make prints of any of the photos, either for personal or business use. Printing requires a very specific license, even for personal use.

These photos fall under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) license. Creative Commons licensing does not mean you have freedom to do as you want with these photos.

Copyright and Usage Permissions

“The photos on this Web site are available for limited personal, non-commercial use by anyone who appears in them. Use limited to Web only. Use in printed materials is prohibited. Commercial use or use by any others without proper licensing is prohibited and protected by US Copyright law. That means you must obtain a license for their use and pay a commensurate fee. Photos are property of Gary Gardiner who must be credited for any usage and a link to his Web site included in the use. Removal of the copyright notice on the photo or removal of metadata is a violation of federal law and punishable with fees and fines”