Where is the line drawn on copyright?

When the copyright status is unknown:
For example, my previous avatar here at askmehelpdesk was this picture:
http://www.genx40.com/images/2005a/PopeEyes.jpg

You can find it all over the web. I have no clue whether it's copyrighted or not. How far must a person go to learn if a picture is copyrighted?

When the copyright status is known:
Say I wanted to use one of these pics as my avatar:
http://www.rosenblatt-sf.com/SelPhotos_04_90s.htm

Would I be breaking the law to use one of them as an avatar without the guy's permission?

If I wanted to use one of his pics on a personal website, would I be OK to just use it and include a line like this?:
Copyright © 1996-2005 Andrew Rosenblatt, MD

I am not a lawyer. I'm 44 married with two children. I think you should consult a lawyer.

Peace and have a great day.

NK

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Please rate my answer. It's the only way to keep experst on the site.

Well.All the avatars I use,are ones I took with my digital camera,so if someone asked me,via email,could they use one,I'd probably say yes,unless it was of me,or another family member.If they just posted a family pic of mine on their web site,I'd ask them to take it down.If it was of the countryside,a city,a town,etc,I'd just ask them to say,that I had taken it.
Other than that,I'm also no lawyer,and are simply married with one child,and have four cats. :D

The two sides of this are the legal part and the ethics part. I think to be truly safe and proper, permission needs to be asked of the owner of protected materials in all circumstances.

However, with that said, (and I only know basic stuff here from being a graphic designer in my first career producing registered trademarks, copyrighted logos, corporate identities, etc) not all circumstances of copyright materials being used are prosecutable or will even be pursued. I know in a broad sense the copyright holder needs to prove identity theft or confusion to the point of economic hazard or that someone profits from the illegal use like what happens with bogus Disney products all the time, for example.

Like all laws it seems these days, nothing is that simple - as evidence of Apple Records and Apple Computers having their court battles. I would guess that many many cases go unpursued out of the sheer ecoomics of legal action.

I ask out of a sense of ethics since it defaults me to the safe side legally and it is the polite thing to do in my book. I would consider all material not marked as copyrighted as fair game for anyone's use - they do have a legal obligation to let it be known when it is copyrighted. I believe that just adding a credit line as you propose without gaining permisson does not get you off the hook legally. I would be surprised if any of this is different in cyberspace than it is anywhere else.

Short of a lawyer letting us in on the details, that is what I know and I hope that helped, Rick.

Added after I read Fred's fine post: the images on the internet that don't specify a copyright but you are prevented from literally copying them - are they copyrighted or just protected? I have no idea in that case but maybe the point is moot since you can't use them?

HI,
My wife is heavily into graphics and images, from all over the web. Some from websites, some from personal emails, some from her Yahoo Group, which she started years ago, in arts and crafts.
Our computer must have about 10 Gig of different pictures/images! She is a "pack rat", doesn't like to let go of anything!
Anyway, all their feelings are that if the picture/image at any website is not protected, i.e. cannot use "copy and paste", then it's copywrited. If it has a download section, clicking on a download link for the picture, there is usually some words saying "for personal use only".
If none of the above happens, can use "copy and paste" with no wording saying otherwise, they are fair game.
Anyway, that's how many feel. Best wishes.

If you are using a picture, it's polite to ask permission first.

As for the actual copyright, I believe there are certain "laws" protecting image use. I'll take a look into it and find out. I think I have some articles on it at home somewhere.

I hate to complicate it further but there is also this to consider:

I met a lot of folks along the way in my former profession who thought that by simply printing the words (C) copyright 2006, Such and Such, Inc. they were protected. Naïve I know but sadly common. If this is still as rampant, there would be a need to verify that it is actually, legally so.

Thank you, all. The more I read, the more unclear it seems - except that it seems that the intentions and specific use of the pics is relevant.

.. and the info on fair use is interesting...