What is a copyright?
A photograph, painting, sculpture, music, and written word, anything we create digital or physical is automatically protected under copyright law. Photos you find online even if they do not have a copyright notice are not yours and you may not reproduce them without permission.
Permission or license
Obtaining permission or a license is difficult because the website where you find the photo may not be the company that has ownership of the photo. At the least, you could be facing a request to remove the photo. At worst you could end up in legal and financial trouble. Make sure you have written permission or a creative commons license before you use any photograph on your website or in print.
Sources for Images
Always obtain your images from a reputable source. There are many stock houses that offer low-cost royalty-free images. Make sure you check the licensing even from these sources. In some cases, they are restricted to editorial use. This is especially true of images that have brand-name goods in them. license for web use may not include print use and print license may be restricted to certain types of uses. A good stock house will be most helpful in answering your questions.
