If you’re a blogger who has used or still uses the reblog button to share other bloggers’ posts, I urge you to read this post.
Likewise, if you use photos or images in your own posts that are not your own or do not come from a genuine website that offers free images and photos, this post is a must-read.
Early 2021, during the lockdown, I had a nasty shock.
For me, the lockdown was terrific – I live in a farmhouse in the Scottish Highlands with gorgeous gardens, have a horse and a pack of rescue dogs, and for once, I could legitimately stay at home and not travel for work. This also allowed me to sit and write without feeling like I was short-changing some other part of my life.
What I had not expected, however, was to receive an email from a law firm accusing me of copyright infringement on a photograph I’d displayed on my blog back in my earliest blogging days, somewhere around 2013.
To add insult to injury, it wasn’t even a blog post I’d put together myself, but a collection of inspirational photos on a friend’s blog, which I’d reblogged!
I shared her post using the WordPress ‘Reblog’ button, and, as you may know, the post appears on your blog with a link to the original for anyone wanting to see more.
I had NO idea (this was quite early in my blogging career); this meant that ALL the photographs in that post were downloaded and stored in my own media library. The fact they were downloaded, even without my knowledge, became a potential legal problem.
If this happens to you, DO NOT ignore it.
The ‘Cease and Desist’ email came from an Italian law firm. Their client, the photographer, is based in the UK, as am I. It detailed the blog post and the specific photograph and demanded £1045.00 compensation for using the picture without obtaining a licence. This was justified as:
- £195 financial loss (£39 per year for the licence)
- £150 damages for flagrancy (putting the photographer at increased risk of having the photo stolen/used without obtaining a licence)
- £100 damages for negative financial consequences
- £150 for the absence of a picture credit
- £50 damages for moral prejudice
- £100 damages for consequential losses
- £100 damages for devaluing the image
- £200 lawyers’ fees
Scary, huh?
This was what I did:
- The first step was to check that the law firm existed, looking up their website and digging a little on Google. Sadly, for me, it was legit.
- Then I looked at the photographer’s site to find the photo. Yes, it was there, along with the price for an annual licence, as detailed in the legal letter.
- So, having established that I had indeed violated copyright, although unwittingly, I checked my own post. As a reblog, I could only see the first picture, which wasn’t the one in dispute. I replied to the lawyer, asking for a screenshot of the image displayed on my site. To my shock, an image of the entire post came back, with all the photos in evidence displayed on my blog. I still don’t know how this is possible, but I couldn’t argue because they had the screenshot.
- I removed the post from my site and also delved into my media library, which is when I discovered to my shock, that all the pictures from the post were stored there. I deleted them all, just in case.
- I contacted the original blogger and advised her to delete it, which she did. The last thing I wanted was for them to go after her, too.
- The next step was to contact the lawyer again and point out I was not the original poster, explaining it was a reblog of someone else’s post.
- They replied that while they would consider this, I was still held responsible because the image had been displayed on my site. They dropped the proposed settlement to £800 and gave me 10 days to pay up.
- I contacted another lawyer for advice. Her answer was: ‘If you did not download it and post it on your site, then you did not copy it. I would argue that re-posting or embedding is not copying because the image is hosted elsewhere and therefore cannot be copyright infringement.’ Note that last bit? Unfortunately, the way WordPress works, the photo had been downloaded and hosted on my own site, even though I hadn’t known it, so this didn’t help me.
- I went back to the Italian lawyer and again stressed that I was not the person who had chosen to use the image. I felt they were being unfair coming after me and not the original poster (which is why I’d given her the heads-up first and ensured she’d removed all traces from her site before typing this message).
- By now, this had gone on for 6 weeks, with me leaving it almost to the stipulated 10-day deadline when I replied to the lawyer. I never once refused to pay them, but I did not offer to do so or haggle about the sum. I spent more time researching potential help from legal groups, but…
- Nearly a year on, and I’ve not heard from them again! This sounds fairly simple, but it was a time-consuming and stressful experience.
I understand from years ago, mainly when posting paper letters, that sometimes the answer to such events is to continue corresponding. Never offer anything, but keep querying small details and spread them out as long as possible. If nothing else, you may get a reduction (as I did) in the sum they demand.
I was lucky; I know others who have had to pay up. In this case, they apparently wrote me off as too much bother to pursue.
If you should be unfortunate enough to have this happen to you, the most important things are:
- Don’t ignore it – it has the potential to be very expensive.
- Don’t pay up straight away – always investigate your options.
Deborah Jay writes fantasy and urban fantasy featuring complex, quirky characters and multi-layered plots – just what she likes to read.
Fortunate enough to live not far from Loch Ness in the majestic, mystery-filled Scottish Highlands with her partner and a pack of rescue dogs, she can often be found lurking in secluded glens and forests, researching locations for her books.
Her first published novel, epic fantasy THE PRINCE’S MAN, won a UK Arts Council award and debuted as an Amazon Hot 100 New Release.
Connect With Deborah
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Important Reminders About Reblogging from Hugh
Reblogging saves many bloggers time. It’s quick to do and can result in more visits and comments to the reblogged post.
It’s also a safe option, but only when used correctly. Here are several points to consider and note if you intend to reblog another blogger’s post or have ever reblogged another blogger’s post.
- If you reblog or have reblogged the blog posts of other bloggers, any images, videos or photos in those posts will have been downloaded into your WordPress media library. You could, therefore, have downloaded illegal images or photos and images that are copyrighted.
- Check the small print – Some photos, images, and pictures may have a limited time that they’re free to use. After that, you could face a fine if they remain on your blog or in your media library.
- Consider other options for sharing blog posts where images and photos are not downloaded to your blog. The ‘Press This’ sharing button is a good option, as no images and photos are downloaded to your media library.
- Another option instead of reblogging is to write and publish a post that includes pingback links to blog posts you want to share. Blogger Sally Cronin does this with her ‘Blogger Weekly’ feature.
- If you run a blogging challenge where you reblog posts from participants, consider adding links to those posts in your blog post or in a new blog post rather than reblogging them. Blogger Terri Webster Schrandt does this in her Sunday Stills photography challenge.
- If you’re unsure that any content in a blog post you want to share is not free to download or use, don’t reblog the post.
- Don’t think that what happened to Deborah won’t happen to you. It can!
- If you believe you may have reblogged posts that have images or photos that are copyrighted or not free to download and use, delete the posts immediately.
- After deleting posts, remember to remove any images and photos that appeared on the reblog from your WordPress media library, as deleting the post does not delete them.
- Remember that copyright laws can also apply to lyrics, artwork, drawings and text.
WordPress offers users hundreds of free images and photos.
If you’re not convinced by Deborah’s experience of copyright infringement, then read Debby Kaye’s post here about a copyright experience she had where she was fined for reblogging a post that contained an image that was copyright protected.
If you have any questions about Deborah’s experience or about reblogging, leave them in the comments section. Deborah and I will try and answer them, although we cannot offer any legal advice.
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Not sure it’s free? Then don’t reblog, copy or download it.
I thank Deborah for sharing her true story about the perils of reblogging with us and for allowing me to publish it on my blog.
Do you have any experience of being fined for copyright infringement?
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This is certainly a cautionary tale. Thanks for sharing, Deborah and Hugh.
You’re welcome, Robbie.
Thanks for sharing this interesting and very useful article. Oh yes, these are experiences nobody wants to get. As working half time as a journalist, i normally only get warning of people doesnt want uncovered her mostly illegal practices. Lol Okay, thats in the portfolio of investigation, but getting warnings after only reblogged an article is not really fair. ;-/ I will share your experiences with others, to keep them away from this. xx Michael
Thank you for reblogging and sharing Deborah’s guest post, Michael.
I’m not sure why WordPress deemed your reblog and comment as spam, but I’m glad I check the spam folder often.
Have a good week.
Thank you as well, Hugh! Oh, WordPress maybe does not like my parallel self hosted blog (https://books.eslarn-net.de), and the automated reblog from this one, by plugin. Have a good week as well! xx Michael
Reblogged this on NEW BLOG HERE >> https:/BOOKS.ESLARN-NET.DE.
This is a cautionary tale indeed Hugh, thanks so much for bringing it to our attention. I remember reading about Debby’s issues too. Like you and others i no longer use the reblog button preferring to use PressThis or simply link to posts within my own. Always helpful info!
My thanks to Deborah for agreeing to share her story on my blog, Debbie.
You’re definitely doing the right thing and protecting yourself by using ‘Press This’ or creating pingbacks to posts you want to share with your readers.
I still use the reblog button at times, but only when I’m absolutely sure of the content.
Hughs,
I believe that this can happen to anyone. When we all begun this online/internet/blogging business, who ever knew that this would ever happen?
Today, there are lots of smart tech that can sniff out anything – so going forward, every business owner online has to be careful. Copyright infringement happens day-in day-out, you just have to listen to the horrible stories of those in the NFT space.
It’s a great lesson that you have shared with us.
Meanwhile, isn’t ‘re-blogging’ is synonymous to ‘Hughs’?’ ☺️
Always grateful for the tips that you share – followed this post fro Senior Salon Pit Stop.
H Emma
Sharing Deborah’s story will make those who read it think twice about what they share and download onto their blogs, Hazlo. In most cases, I think bloggers don’t have anything to concern themselves with, but the reblog button has always been tricky not only because of what you may be downloading onto your blog but also because of the space those images and photos take up.
I hear a lot of bloggers who say, ‘it won’t happen to me,’ but as Deborah has confirmed, it can happen to anyone of us.
Thank you for coming over from the Senior Salon/Pitsop blog share party.
I’d been reblogging for years when this happened, and I’ve been back through all my posts and media library without finding anything else to worry about, but it did allow me to delete tons of out of date posts I’d not realised were clogging up space!
🤔 If reblogging, on the whole, has the potential of landing a blogger into legal trouble, WordPress should do away with the “Reblog” button.
On a positive note, I never reblogged anyone’s blog post on WordPress.
I don’t use the reblog button, Renard, but I understand why some still use it. However, many users need to be more alert and ask themselves questions when using it. Although WordPress provide it, it is up to the user to ensure they’re not doing anything illegal when using it. I think that goes for the whole WordPress platform.
Deborah’s story certainly had me checking no illegal images were lurking in my media library.
Excellent share Deb and Hugh. As one who learned this about 7 years ago, ( I too posted about it), I NEVER reblog since. The exact same thing happened to me unknowingly. I use ‘press this’, which bring the link to the post I want to share over to my drafts and then I copy and paste what I want from that post onto a new post WITHOUT any images, unless I know the blogger well and know that they use their own photos. Hugs xx
I linked to the post you wrote and published in 2015, Debby. Hope the pingback worked?
I remember reading that post a lot, especially when looking for images for blog posts, although I now only ever use my own or the free ones WordPress or Pixabay offer.
Over the last few days, I’ve also deleted over 500 images from my WordPress media library, many of which I wasn’t sure about. Some, though, were from posts I’d already deleted as a part of a general blog cleaning exercise.
Likewise, I no longer use the reblog button, preferring to use ‘Press This.’
Thanks so much Hugh. It’s always worthy repeating these types of posts for those bloggers who have missed them to help avoid them getting caught in this unintentional copyright web. <3
Just saw the pingback. Thanks again Hugh. Hoping people find these posts helpful :)
I hope so, Debby. I get so many bloggers saying to me – ‘it won’t happen to me and my little blog…’, but of course, it can.
Glad the pingback worked.
Hi Debby,
Great to see you! Is this your post? I remember hearing that this happened to you. Do you go by Debby Jay now?
These are two different Debby’s, Janice. Not connected in any way apart from being good friends, writers, authors and bloggers.
Hi Janice! Great to hear from you. No, this is Hugh’s post, sharing Deborah Jay’s experience. I wrote about this incidence a few years back and Hugh linked to it. Hugs to you <3
Miss you. You have been in my thoughts. Sending loving thoughts your way.
Thank you so much Janice. I’ll come round and visit. Hugs <3
Thanks for your support when this happened Deb <3
I feel for you girl <3
Thanks for the info – most enlightening.
You’re welcome.
Reblogged this on Have We Had Help? and commented:
Beware!! Scumbags lurking!!!
Sounds like she ran afoul of a not-quite-a-scam type of company.
I don’t think for one minute that the solicitor’s persuing Deborah was a scam company, but I can see how many people could fall for such a scam, especially if they pay up straight away.
Yes, that’s precisely why I checked out the law firm as my first priority – so many scammers out there :(
That is gobsmackingly frightening. Saving this as a template in case I am ever in that situation. A friend had a scare like this–she ended up paying–about a decade ago so I did go through every one of my blog posts on four blogs and change out pictures. I now use only public domain or mine. But, ‘public domain’ might not be–who knows.
Glad this worked out, Deborah!
I’m glad you have already deleted photos and pictures from your blog that may not have been free to use, Jacqui. Did you delete them from the media library of each blog too?
And yes, you’re right. On some websites, ‘Free’ doesn’t always mean free. Some images may only be free to use for a specific time. It’s always best to check the small print. However, the best advice is to use images from the WordPress free media library, as all images there are free to download and use (with no time limits).
Thanks Jacqui, I’m still aware it was never resolved, but the longer it goes without contact from the solicitor, the happier I am!
As long as your rear points to the ground there will always be unscrupulous individuals lurking in the shadows!
As I have discovered a few times after seeing my blog posts copied and posted on other blogs as if written by the host rather than me.
Reblogged this on deborahjay and commented:
I’m over at Hugh’s Views and News this week, sharing a scary blogging experience I had last year – well worth reading so you don’t fall into the same trap I did.
Really useful advice about dealing with such correspondence. I always want everything to be settled quickly. I must learn patience.
Generally, when I reblog I remove all the downloaded photos from my media library except the one that actually shows up in my bit of the blog post (before the link to click for full post.). Maybe in future, I should just post the link as you advise and use one of my own pics that are relevant.
I have yet to work my way through old posts deleting those no longer relevant to anyone (on my to-do list). Fortunately, though, I have made a practice of deleting reblogged posts fairly quickly – just in case the posts aren’t there anymore. Phew!
It seems that Deborah’s patience has paid off, but I can understand why some of us would panic when getting such correspondence. I know I would.
Removing all the images straight away is a good idea, although that first image could be a problem if it shows on your reblog. I’d recommend only sharing a link and adding one of your images rather than any image from the reblogged post.
Don’t forget that when deleting blog posts, also remove the images from your media library. Unfortunately, deleting a post doesn’t pull any images or photos on the post from your blog.
Removing media library images is one of my main reasons for culling. I Squoosh all my images, but still keen on not running out of space and having to pay more for my hobby.
You’re doing the right thing by deleting redundant images and photos from your media library to free up space. Keep up the good work up.
It sounds awful. The accompanying stress and threat of legal action may make someone jump prematurely. I like the advice of extending the conversation out in the meantime so that one could consult an attorney. I wonder what percentage of people pay even though they haven’t violated any copyright laws.
It also begs the question, how many have fallen victim to scammers, Pete?
Deborah did the right thing and checked out that the company that issued the fine was genuine, and I recommend that anyone who receives anything like the email Deborah received does the same thing first. Unfortunately, I know that many people would panic at receiving such information and probably pay up straight away, but from what has happened to Deborah, it’s definitely worth keeping in touch with those issuing the fine and extending the conversation out.
I had experience of dealing with aggressive solicitors in 2019, in a very nasty wrangle over the ownership of my house. I learned then to make things take as long as possible by answering the aggressor just before their deadline, and ask them yet another question – if you can come up with a string of questions and ask them one at a time, it can extend proceedings for a considerable time. In some cases, as with this copyright issue, it makes them give up.
Good for you in keeping your head. I’m sure some fall victim simply out of fear.
I’m sure they do. I know I panicked at first, but I’ve learned to chew things over before reacting.
I Should I not Reblog or Share or use the WordPress this button. Mostly I just wanted to help promote stories and posts from others because I enjoyed them and thought it might let others see them and enjoy also. I don’t make money from it. Can I even share or reblog this post? So my friends here will know why i quit reflagging their posts.
You’re welcome to reblog this post, but I’d recommend you use your own images on any reblogs you do. That way, you won’t be using any images or photos that do not belong to you and which may be copyrighted.
Very helpful (and scary) information, Hugh. Thanks for this post.
You’re welcome, Dan.
Very good information thank you.
You’re welcome.
Oh wow that sounds scary. Luckily I use all my own photos.
You’re much safer using your own photos and images, but I would recommend that you watermark all your photos and images before using them on your blog; otherwise, they could get stolen and used on other websites.