How to avoid costly fines for unauthorized use of photos on the web

Recently, there have been increasing cases where private hosts receive official letters and invoices from companies representing the authors of photographs. The amounts of these fees are not small – in some cases, penalties reach over €1,000 for just one photo.

A photo used without the appropriate rights can result in high financial penalties.

How does the problem occur?

If you use photos on your website for which you do not have copyright or which are not free for commercial use (even if found via Google Images), you expose yourself to serious risks.

In practice, this can mean:

• financial compensation to the author for unauthorized use of the photo
• additional contractual penalties if you do not remove the photo within the given deadline
• legal proceedings and lawyer fees

What to pay special attention to

• Photos taken from other websites, portals, ads, or social networks are not free to use.
• Even if you removed the photo, if it is still available via direct link or Google cache, legally it is considered still publicly available.
• In some cases, penalties are calculated for each individual photo.

What you should do immediately

1. Review your entire website and remove all photos for which you are not sure you have the rights to use.
2. Notify us by email that you have done so.

How to check if a photo is still available in Google cache

1. Open Google and type in the search bar:

   site:yourdomain.com image-name.jpg

   Replace yourdomain.com with your domain, and image-name.jpg with the exact file name of the image.

2. If the image appears in the results, click on the three dots next to the URL and select the "Cached" option.

3. If the option is available, Google has a stored version of the image or page, meaning it is still publicly accessible.

4. The photo may also be displayed via the direct URL (e.g., yourdomain.com/images/photo.jpg). Enter the address in your browser to check if it opens.

5. If the photo is in the cache, you need to wait for Google to automatically update the index, which usually takes a few days to several weeks.

Where to find safe and free photos

• Unsplash.com
• Pexels.com
• Pixabay.com

All photos from these services can be used for commercial purposes, without the obligation to credit the author (unless you wish to).

Our advice

If you are not sure about the source of a photo – do not use it.

Instead, use your own photos or photos from verified free databases.

Be proactive – review your website today and protect yourself from unnecessary fines.