photo of famous person?

Scandinavian Freckles

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Hi everyone !!
I have a question.
I was wondering if I would get a copyright strike/claim if I use a picture of an actor from a movie?
I am going to be using the picture of macaulay culkin from the home alone movies in my thumbnail and I really don't want to get in trouble.
So if anyone has used a picture like this or knows that it is ok, could you please let me know?
If anyone has done it and gotten in trouble I would love to hear about that as well.

Have a lovely day !!
 

Dewmonic Abyss

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You should be fine. Just as long as it is a thumbnail relevant to the actual content, and the content itself is absolutely you're own. Incidentally, be sure to check the source of the image you obtain. Typically, they might list requirements for use of the image or state that they are okay with the image being used for commercial reasons. I've never heard of someone being copyright striked for a thumbnail, though. The worst case scenario is that you'll have to change it. Thumbnails aren't as black and white as the actual content of a video. No one can file a DMCA for Thumbnails on YouTube. However, that doesn't mean you're not infringing copyright. Just can't be striked by the copyright holder.

But, for the best practice you want to go directly to the source of the image you obtained and make sure you have all the rights to use it. See if the source requires you to do anything specific.

Overall, it just depends on how willing you are to test the waters of the situation.
 

Scandinavian Freckles

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You should be fine. Just as long as it is a thumbnail relevant to the actual content, and the content itself is absolutely you're own. Incidentally, be sure to check the source of the image you obtain. Typically, they might list requirements for use of the image or state that they are okay with the image being used for commercial reasons. I've never heard of someone being copyright striked for a thumbnail, though. The worst case scenario is that you'll have to change it. Thumbnails aren't as black and white as the actual content of a video. No one can file a DMCA for Thumbnails on YouTube. However, that doesn't mean you're not infringing copyright. Just can't be striked by the copyright holder.

But, for the best practice you want to go directly to the source of the image you obtained and make sure you have all the rights to use it. See if the source requires you to do anything specific.

Overall, it just depends on how willing you are to test the waters of the situation.
Thank you so much for the answer :) I will research everything about the source and hope it says its ok to use it.
Thanks for taking the time :) !!
 
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Jack Swish

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I would suggest going to google images and typing in the famous person in and use the tools section and this will show a drop down menu then filter usage rights :)
 

Sin B

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You should be fine. Just as long as it is a thumbnail relevant to the actual content, and the content itself is absolutely you're own. Incidentally, be sure to check the source of the image you obtain. Typically, they might list requirements for use of the image or state that they are okay with the image being used for commercial reasons. I've never heard of someone being copyright striked for a thumbnail, though. The worst case scenario is that you'll have to change it. Thumbnails aren't as black and white as the actual content of a video. No one can file a DMCA for Thumbnails on YouTube. However, that doesn't mean you're not infringing copyright. Just can't be striked by the copyright holder.

But, for the best practice you want to go directly to the source of the image you obtained and make sure you have all the rights to use it. See if the source requires you to do anything specific.

Overall, it just depends on how willing you are to test the waters of the situation.
There was a case, where Laci Green a glorified Social Justice Warrior tried to take down someone's video because they used her image in a thumbnail; even when the video has practical cause for having her image in the thumbnail.

Sufficed to say the YouTube community ripped her to shreds for hypocrisy, fake claiming and more... the hypocrisy part was rather amusing as she called the use of her image illegal yet she used pictures of Justin Bieber, and many other musicians/celebs/and so on.

And the irony when the YouTube community roasted the living daylights out of her every single video used her image, insult to injury as they say.

Anyways... the only real issue is if it's photographed by a fancypants prude photographer that has actual copyright on the specific images, which is rather rare (though some companies do make fake copyright on public domain images, so anything can happen.)