If you are discussing or critiquing the actual picture you should be fine.

If you're using the picture for most any other reason- if the person who's picture you're using finds out, yes, you absolutely could get a copyright strike from them.
 
If you are discussing or critiquing the actual picture you should be fine.

If you're using the picture for most any other reason- if the person who's picture you're using finds out, yes, you absolutely could get a copyright strike from them.
Ahh, ok and what if the picture is in the thumbnail[DOUBLEPOST=1467257282,1467257141][/DOUBLEPOST]
Ahh, ok and what if the picture is in the thumbnail
Or would the same rules apply?
 
Ahh, ok and what if the picture is in the thumbnail

Did you take the picture or own the rights to use it? If not, then it doesn't matter if it's a background, thumbnail, or only on for a second - if you don't have the rights, you can get into trouble.
 
It's possible to be copyrighted, but honestly it's one in a million. You would have to be very unlucky for that to happen, most YouTubers, if not all get away with it. Think about it, would a photographer go on YouTube and look at every video to copyright it? I doubt it, but it's possible although highly unlikely.
 
However unlikely of getting caught doesn't make it right...and, is the risk worth a possible copyright strike?
I know, I was just stating my opinion. As for risk-worthiness, in my opinion, it depends. If it improves your content and the value of your content then yes. A good example would be the channel Top5s. His videos are full of copyrighted pictures and sometimes videos. Using the pictures makes his content a lot more enjoyable and entertaining which helped him grow. If he just used text or uncopyrighted pictures, his content would be a lot less valuable. He also has not been copyrighted for his usage of pictures and videos from my knowledge. So in conclusion, if the pictures increase the value of your content immensely, then it is worth the risk.
 
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"Use Google Images" . . . . he said.
So, I grabbed one for a client blog post.

A few days later, the calls from Getty Images started and the prompt demand of a large payment was barked. It wasn't enough that the image was taken down after only 48 hours of being up. Nope, they've been extorting people that unknowingly took "their" images from the internet. Sure most don't pay, but many have for fear of larger legal bills.

It seems like a one-in-a-million shot, but if it doesn't have a Creative Commons (CC) license for public domain, probably should just go to one of the cool sites like (Unsplash, Public Domain Archive, Getrefe, Gratisography or a dozen others).

It might take a little bit of digging, but the peace of mind you get of knowing you're in the clear is helpful.
 
"Use Google Images" . . . . he said.
So, I grabbed one for a client blog post.

A few days later, the calls from Getty Images started and the prompt demand of a large payment was barked. It wasn't enough that the image was taken down after only 48 hours of being up. Nope, they've been extorting people that unknowingly took "their" images from the internet. Sure most don't pay, but many have for fear of larger legal bills.

It seems like a one-in-a-million shot, but if it doesn't have a Creative Commons (CC) license for public domain, probably should just go to one of the cool sites like (Unsplash, Public Domain Archive, Getrefe, Gratisography or a dozen others).

It might take a little bit of digging, but the peace of mind you get of knowing you're in the clear is helpful.
Never use Getty images, they are the only people who will claim copyright on you, as long as it isn't Getty images then it should be fine.
 
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