USAE News provides commentary on nonprofits' use of photography, which is based on an alert "Can My Nonprofit Use that Photo? No. Yes. Maybe?" written by Venable partners, Armand (A.J.) Zottola, George Constantine, and Cindy Lewin. The article, which was published on March 19, 2018, addressed how organizations possessing photographs not created by an employee must be cognitive of licensing and copyright rules before employing them in any fashion.
The authors noted to avoid complications, particularly with copyright trolls that aggressively assert rights in photographs, a few considerations are recommended: examining the copyright status of the work of authorship; seeking permission or a license from the copyright owners; considering available public domain sources; and determining if the item is subject to fair use, which is the ability to use, without permission or license, a work protected by copyright.
The authors noted to avoid complications, particularly with copyright trolls that aggressively assert rights in photographs, a few considerations are recommended: examining the copyright status of the work of authorship; seeking permission or a license from the copyright owners; considering available public domain sources; and determining if the item is subject to fair use, which is the ability to use, without permission or license, a work protected by copyright.