Do you have permission to use that photo?

Do you have permission to use that photo?

Do you own the rights to the photos on your website? If you’re unsure, go double-check.

Image licensing is vitally important to avoid copyright infringement. Just because a photo appears on Google Images doesn’t mean you have permission to use it on your website. In fact, you can get into legal trouble using a copyrighted image without a license or permission.

How can you avoid a potential legal headache? Simply utilize a pay-for-license resource — such as iStock, Getty Images, or Stock Images — to source high-quality imagery. Google Images also offers an advance search to filter images that are free to use or share commercially. Even still, check and then double check if the image is truly free to use.

Posting the right image on your website can be worth 10,000 words. Just make sure it doesn’t get you sued!