Using Photographs on Web Sites
It’s common for distributors and retailers to borrow product pictures from a manufacturer’s web site for use in their own site. That’s risky, because in the US, photographers are automatically granted copyright, even if you’re paying them to take the picture, so the manufacturer may not own the rights.
By the same token, web sites that offer free pictures may not own them either. You can buy the rights from a legitimate photography house for a few bucks, so it’s not worth the risk of getting sued for copyright infringement.
Always insist on an accounting of where the developer obtained the pictures for your web site. If you’re going to do some illegal, it’s best not to post it on the internet!
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