In the florist business, floral images are a must. Your online presence is mostly about beautiful pictures of floral arrangements, bouquets, customized floral gifts, etc. Whether it is for social media or your florist website, images are vital to increase your brand awareness and make your flower shop shine.
So, understanding the rules surrounding flower shop image sharing, fair use, and copyright is crucial for florists. Read on to know the basics of image copyright for florists.
What is Copyright?
Copyright is a straightforward concept and it dates back to the printing press times. It protects your creation. That means what you create is yours and it cannot be copied without your permission. For instance, if you copyright your floral photography images, they cannot be used by any other individual or business without permission.
Anything original (image, texts, product, or service) is protected by copyright. They cannot be adapted, distributed, or reproduced without the copyright holder’s permission.
Understanding Image Copyright
Image copyright can be a little complicated. You can identify copyrighted images with the ‘©’ symbol. In other words, any creative work with the © symbol is protected with copyright. Images are automatically covered by copyright as it is applied to any original work. However, if the image is not registered with an appropriate Copyright office, anyone can use it freely without any penalty. Once your flower shop pictures have an official copyright status, you can take legal action against anyone who uses your images.
Rules of Social Media Copyright
As easy as online image sharing is, you must know the rules of copyright in social media channels. Different channels have different copyright rules. Ensure to read and understand them to avoid copyright infringement. For instance, social media platforms like Twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook allow the posting of copyrighted images. These platforms do not own the work posted on the site; the owner still retains the copyright of the content.
Understanding fair use
The fair use policy allows copying of a copyrighted work for limited purposes like review, posting opinions, or parody of the work. Fair use is a loophole in copyright as others may attempt to sell something that is not their own without the creator’s permission. For example, fair use plant images can be used by others (even if copyrighted) without the permission of the copyright holder.
How to Copyright Florist Images?
You can protect your florist images by registering with the appropriate Copyright Office. In the US, you can register with the US Copyright Office. You can easily do it online through the website copyright.gov. The current cost for single image copyright is $45. You must also submit an image copy with your application. Further, stay alert for copyright fraud. If you want to protect your florist images from copyright fraud or theft, ensure to use a watermark of your florist business name or brand logo. This way, it will be more complicated for the individual to steal your work.
Not copyrighting your florist images can lead you into messy situations. Copying your original work will be easier. Thus, businesses can also attract customers using your images. So, protect your work and yourself from copyright infringement with image copyright for florists.
