question about my book.....

[Rainbow berry1978]

Hey all pony friends 
I am going to make a My little pony book, and I would like to know if I can use pictures from people here 
The book will be in Swedish,  for the people here, and those that want to know about the ponies.
I have ofcorse saved alot of pictures from Google and Facebook and here, but my question is if it is ok I put some in my book, that might be yours 
Please let me know befor I start the book

[Skeen]

Unless you have express written consent from the owner of each and every picture you might even potentially use, I don't think you can use any of them. 

[Taffeta]

You probably need to be careful with this -while I think it's great you are writing a book, the moment that you put something in print (even if it is self published), you make yourself liable for any images you use without the direct consent of the person who took that specific picture. You would need to ask the owners of every image you found on Google and Facebook to check if they minded and get their permission in writing, because you can get in a lot of trouble if you just use images. Even on google they all belong to someone, somewhere. When I put a pony name in Google, quite often the images that come up first are from ID sites already, and therefore belong somewhere identifiable.

For my part, I have always said that my photos, text and scans are not for commercial use of any kind, which includes any form of publication. I don't mind people using them for ID sites if they contact me and ask me about it first, but I don't give permission for any of my images to be used in print. Other people might feel differently, but I have a pretty strong view on this. They're my ponies xD.

This has turned into a really negative post, for which I apologise, but I don't want you to get yourself into any trouble. Be really careful to get the written permissions of people for specific images if you go down that line. You never know where your book might end up, and it gets really messy if you start taking pictures from the net which you don't hold the copyright for.

Your best bet is to take your own photos and use those, or find a couple of trusted friends with the ponies you need to do photos for your book specifically and give written consent that they can be used in the book. Otherwise you run the risk of accidentally committing copyright infringement, and that is quite serious.

I remember when my Dad was writing his book he had to track down the owner of every single image he hoped to use, and if he couldn't, he had to change the image before he could send his MS to the publisher, exactly for that reason.

Pictures belong to people, just the same as ponies do.

[Rainbow berry1978]

That is cool 
I just needed to know befor I do somting wrong

I think I might draw the ponies oin the book, then I use for sure my own pictures 

[Taffeta]

If you draw the ponies yourself, you 100% solve that problem

[Rainbow berry1978]

Taffeta : It is cool, I will try and take some cool pictures and make some nice drawings 
I just did not want to do anything wrong, So I am glad you all telling me this first 
It means alot to me

Post Merge: April 02, 2015, 10:12:28 AM

Yeah I think that will be what I will do 
Then I will have no problems

Post Merge: April 02, 2015, 10:12:43 AM

That is cool 
I just needed to know befor I do somting wrong

I think I might draw the ponies oin the book, then I use for sure my own pictures 

[hathorcat]

Firstly, thank you for asking and showing consideration Your book sounds like a lovely idea.

I dont like to post things like this but from an Arena point of view you do perhaps need to be aware of some things. Not only do we ask people not to do this but we have banned members in the past who blatantly and continually steal the photographs of our members. The fact you have to be a registered board member in order to even see photographs, is for the same reason. It was to prevent misuse or peoples pictures. We try to make members feel they can post what they like here without the worry the images they share will pop up on other sites (we cant always protect against people who are here only to steal images but we try our best).

The same will apply for you on Facebook and Google. Unless you are using promo stock images supplied by the likes of Hasbro or retailers, most pictures belong to someone. And you will need to track down each of those someones in order to have permission to use the pictures. Its going to take you some time but that may be a good way for you to go?

Alternatively, you could try taking your own pictures of your own ponies or you could ask people on the boards to donate pictures to you. If neither of those will work, then drawing pictures as you mention is your best bet.