Date: Tue, 17 Jul 2001 12:23:26 +0800
Subject: Re: Permission to use pictures on website
From: DON DIXON <dond@eballoons.com.au>
To: Deliza Nieves <dnieves@ameragents.com>,

D DIXON

> Hi all,  I'm building a website and I only have a few pictures to post.
> I've seen some wonderful pictures on varies websites that I would like to
> use as samples of things I can do, with credit to the person offcourse...

G'Day from Down Under,
A curly question! I imagine this one is going to stir quite a mixture of
emotions among subscribers to the list.

One good thing about a web site is that it doesn't have remain static. In
fact:- it's better to regularly change it. What you place on your page/s
today, can be completely changed or, simply "tweeked" a little tomorrow.
Similar to how one should change their showroom floor. A web site is a kind
of electronic showroom floor of portfolio.

You start by saying that you do "have a few pictures" of your own to post.
May I suggest that you use the limited number you have and say whatever else
you need to say in text form. Consider it "this month's version" of your web
site. As you obtain more images of your own work, add them and delete some
of the text on your web pages. Maybe you slowly increase the number of web
pages?

Sit back and consider your proposition (using another balloon artist's
images on your site) for a moment. Some issues arise:-
1. You could place them in an uncomfortable position. They want to say,
"No!" ...... however concede, due to a feeling of being "obliged" to a
spirit of cooperation in our industry. This industry is quite unique in the
level of cooperation shared and enjoyed.

2. Some of those whom you approach could be quite offended. There is a small
number of people in this industry who believe they were born with an
artistic "gift" that must be protected and guarded akin to intellectual
property. Maybe they are right? That's a whole new topic!

3.To many of us, creating web sites is difficult, beyond our comfort zone,
time consuming or just too costly. It's "EASIER" to take short cuts and
"quote" or borrow from other publications with their "permission".
Personally, I find that taking the easy way out is never quite so rewarding
as achieving from self contribution. However, I do appreciate that in
business, "circumstances" dictate that the short cut is necessary on
occasion.
 
4. Do you propose to offer to pay the people you approach for use of their
copyright material? (images are the copyright property of the creator) Or
are you only looking for permission that comes without a price tag?

Let's put it another way? How would you feel about the following situation?
What if I came to you and said, "I'm new to balloon twisting business. I can
do it, but I want to be able to sell twisted poodles and parrots off my shop
counter and I don't have enough time to make them. With me providing the
260s, will you make them and give them to me and allow me to sell them in my
store? I'll tell every customer that someone else made them."

Now .... if I were a customer, I'd be wondering if you really ARE capable of
making poodles. After all, if you can create a poodle .... why are you
displaying poodles created by others? Do you simply "subcontract" all poodle
orders to another twister?

I'm not doubting your claim that you can make the decor you propose to
"borrow" in image form. I'm simply saying that your customers might. Is that
what you want them to think?

Another parody:-
You might not mind a neighbour borrowing your garden hose, but how would you
feel about him asking to borrow your new car? We all the draw the line of
acceptability according to the neighbour's character, history, what if ....
etc etc.

We think the more commercially and morally acceptable solution may be to
simply refrain from displaying another person's creations till you find the
time to create the decor, photograph it, then create ORIGINAL marketing
material for your web site? Here's another benefit:-
By taking the "long road", at least your customers and competition aren't
aware that one of your commercial weaknesses is that you need to rely on
others to create marketable material in the case of web images.

The question then arises;
"Does the owner of the web site, from whom I am borrowing images, consider
me to be their competition?" Yet another Pandora's box!

At the end of the day ..... it's between you and your "neighbourly"
colleagues. Good luck and we hope you get lots of valuable feedback from
this list to your question.

Don & Dolly Dixon  CBAs
Sydney - AUSTRALIA
http://www.bizballoons.com.au
http://www.celebrating.com.au
****************************
SAVE A TREE - BUY A BALLOON
****************************