With more content than ever before being produced for online consumption the dangers of plagiarism and copyright infringement are a major worry.

It’s so easily done when you’re hurriedly searching Google for a relevant image for the company’s latest blog, or copying a piece of useful reference text from another website for a rushed online newsletter. People also take liberties with their Twitter avatars by using a celebrity image or similar. Even the best of intentions can cause problems if you use another’s brand logo without permission, even if you intend to use it as a link to promote them.

Some of the typical situations we come across are:

• Companies still using licensed stock images long after the license expiry date (a standard license is for 12 months).
• Companies using free web icons/images on their commercial site, although their only licensed for non-commercial use
• Businesses using photos from a Google image search, without checking the copyright situation
• Businesses using another author’s copy without referencing it back to its original author

Out of date licensed stock images have caught many companies out, especially with the Getty stock libraries, who have a very aggressive legal department and specialist image tracking software that trawls the internet looking for their images that are being used unlawfully. And there is no leeway with these lawyers; they’re only interested in invoicing for infringements and getting the fines paid.

With so many companies outsourcing much of their online activity it is imperative that you check the credibility of your suppliers, Naivety, ignorance and inexperience are no excuses in law for plagiarism or copyright infringement and it’s the website owner’s responsibility to ensure their online content is legitimate.

It’s relatively easy to check the pearly words via one of the many plagiarism checker websites like this one at searchenginereports.net. You just copy and paste the text to be checked in to the box and off you go. It only takes a few seconds to provide the links to where this copy is used online.

Stock images though are almost impossible to check (photos, illustrations, cartoons, icons etc.). Therefore if there is any doubt regarding their origins do not use them. Ensure you, or your suppliers, source new material from a company that provides royalty free images and thoroughly check usage rights before purchasing them. Maintain all invoices and records of purchase just to be on the safe side. If not you could be in for a hefty fine.