The devil in ‘found’ images’ usage lurks in the details

The Internet Age has created much more than the free flow of information. Images today are freely transferred at the click of a button, and it is more difficult to acknowledge or confirm the source of provenance of a particular image. While there are many benefits to the free flowing exchange of images, it poses problems for those who use “found” images. Copyright, trademark, right of publicity and other claims are increasingly being filed against companies using images for commercial purposes. Usually, if there’s improper use of the image or something contained in the image was unintentional, the “infringer” does not know that she has infringed or believes that she had the right to use the image because of a stock photography or other license. However, copyright and other intellectual property law typically does not excuse unintentional infringement. Worse yet, in copyright cases, it is not unusual for courts to award attorneys’ fees, which encourages overaggressive litigation of copyright claims.