Image rights for the use of images

Image rights are the rights that are available to authors as copyrights. The actual copyrights include the decision as to what happens to an image and how it is named. The right of use includes the right of exploitation, the right of publication and the right of editing.

The authors of images in search engines, on the internet or on image portals have numerous rights according to the German Copyright Act. They alone determine whether or how the images may be used. Only the author has the right to make his or her own images "publicly available". The authors decide to what extent and in what way an image may be used. If, as a blog operator or agency, you want to allow other bloggers to use your images, you must grant yourself the right of sub-licensing.

No images should be used in advertisements, on blogs or other websites without the express consent of the photographer, the agency or an image database such as Getty-Images. To prevent legal problems, images should not be used if the copyright holder cannot be determined. Authors should not only be named in the imprint, but directly above or below the images.

Rights of use for images are needed when the image is "used" on the website. In the case of rights of use for "online use", images may not be used for printed flyers. Otherwise, there is a risk of warnings, even though a contract for the use of the images has been concluded.

The different types of rights of use include the simple right of use, the transferable/non-transferable right of use, the right of use for online/social media/print and the right of use for a limited or unlimited period of time. Furthermore, there is the right to commercial or editorial or private use only and the right to edit or merely use images without editing.

Under certain licensing conditions, image platforms such as Adobe Stock make images available to bloggers for a fee or even free of charge. The licence conditions regulate where and how extensively authors must be named, whether an image can be used for editorial purposes or also for editorial offers and whether images may be edited.

Copyright holders of images are entitled to injunctive relief, claims for damages, claims for information and, in the case of a justified warning, the lawyer's fees. If people who have been warned do not react, the rights holders have no other option but to sue for injunctive relief. However, they could be stuck with the costs. First, you should check whether you posted the video or picture yourself and ask for proof that the person issuing the warning has the picture rights. The cease-and-desist letter can be checked by a copyright lawyer.

If you sign a cease-and-desist declaration, you are obliged to pay a contractual penalty for life if you publish the image again. The image must not only be deleted from the website, but also from the server. You should delete photos and images yourself from content management systems such as Wordpress.