Creative Commons

When I started my blog, I made the conscious decision to try to be sensitive to the use of copyrighted images. I promised myself that I would only upload photographs or images that I had generated myself or that I was given permission to use, thus steering away from the rampant internet image “borrowing” that I face (and, dare I say, participate in) at work.

As another way to show that I was sensitive to this issue, I also included information on my blog’s sidebar on “Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works” licensing provided by Creative Commons. This was simply my way of showing my readers that I had the right to show all of the images posted on my blog and that I was not posting any copyrighted images without permission. I also hoped, though I have no real way of policing this, including a Creative Commons license would prey on people’s conscious and remind them that they should not download the images from my blog and use them without my knowing.

I thought this was all well and good until I was having a conversation with a friend the other day about my blog. I thought my position was pretty straightforward, but I realized that it is not so clear cut. For instance, one might argue that the internet is entirely public domain, and that anything posted online, even for an instant, has been forever placed in the hands of the public. Though this is a little extreme for me, I do get the point. I am not a photographer and am not making a living off of photography, so I do not have a great deal at steak by protecting my images, yet I have this urge to do so.

So, now I want to ask you, what do you think? If you feel strongly one way or another about image licensing on the internet, I would love to hear from you. Please use the “comments” function just below this post to share your thoughts. Thanks!