Most figures from textbooks are now open use at the textbook companies push.
they were spending a lot getting and keeping records of permissions
and gave up some years ago.
Anything that is posted on the internet without

Copyright (c) YEAR. NAME OF COPYRIGHT HOLDER.

is technically open for use by anyone.  I got this directly from the
copyright office a few years back.
However, when using google image search or similar methods, you must
be certain you actually open the
website as they often place the copyright info in the html instead of
on the picture.  By posting your pictures
without copyright info you are by default making them free open access.

Now, if you are seeking to use a picture for which there is no
copyright posted, it would be polite to ask for permission.  In fact,
you might find the photographer willing to give you more!  Now the big
complexity.  A
few years ago I posted a picture of a rooster that I had permission to
use from the website owner.  A few months later someone contacted me,
rather irate, and asked me to take it down!  I did so, and informed
them that I had obtained it from another website!  They later allowed
me to use it, but I never put it back up.  My point being that just
because you make the effort doesn't mean the person you get the pic
from is even honest!!!  When constructing websites, I believe you can
link the picture so that it shows on your site but is posted on their
site without any problem. But, this may be inaccurate so don't take my
word from it.

The bottom line is that just because something is legal doesn't make
it prudent, right, or polite.  An ounce of courtesy goes a long way.
Unfortunately, many of us get so wrapped up in the moment we forget
this.

Hopefully, this discussion will wind down soon! :)

On Thu, May 14, 2009 at 9:35 AM, MaryBeth Voltura
<[email protected]> wrote:
> This semester, I had students in my physiological ecology course create
> websites as a class project.  They chose an animal and an environmental
> stressor, and discussed the physiological mechanisms the species has to
> handle the stressor.  They presented information on natural history, and
> also results from two primary research articles.  They were expected to
> fully cite the research articles, and provide sources for the natural
> history information as well, which sometimes included range maps and
> photos.
>
> This discussion has me thinking about their use of photos.  Students
> typically found photos of their animal online, and used those photos
> with attribution but not prior permission.  The website URLs were
> distributed only to the class for other students to view and comment on.
>
> I would be interested in the list's opinion of this type of project, and
> how best to allow students to create interesting and educational
> websites without violating fair use of images.  Obviously, they are not
> going to be able to obtain their own pictures of red kangaroos and
> arctic springtails.
>
> Thanks in advance,
> Mary Beth
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Mary Beth Voltura, Assistant Professor
> Department of Biological Sciences
> SUNY Cortland
> Cortland NY 13045
> 607-753-2713
> [email protected]
>



-- 
Malcolm L. McCallum
Associate Professor of Biology
Texas A&M University-Texarkana
Editor, Herpetological Conservation and Biology
http://www.herpconbio.org
http://www.twitter.com/herpconbio

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