There has recently been uproar surrounding copyright issues involving people pinning on Pinterest. Copyright refers to giving the actual person who created the information the credit for doing so. In order to avoid mistakes with copyright on Pinterest, you need to properly source where you found the information and who actually created it. By linking the pin back to the appropriate and original post the original picture was on; you are able to source a pin correctly and avoid the copyright mess. Most people who pin to Pinterest
pin it to their boards without sourcing it and can unintentionally take the credit for it. This is a problem for the people who actually created it because they are not recognized for their own work.
A simple step to properly pin images to Pinterest is to use a link directly to the page URL that the actual image is currently on. When you find great key lime pie recipe to share directly from Google images it’s not much good for the original poster. The link that is pinned will just take you to the Google image and not the actual page with the recipe. By clicking the image and going directly to the page where the image is located, you will get the correct URL to paste and it will be pinned properly thus giving the original creator the credit.
An innocent mistake that people make when using Pinterest is repinning when the link pinned is not a link to the original. Before you repin something, you should verify the link actually represents the original source. This is a very common thing that occurs but if you can take an extra minute to double check the URL, you can avoid copyright issues with your pins. By adding a description to the pin, it gives you another opportunity to name the actual source. There should be no reason why the artist isn’t getting the credit they deserve.
Another no brainer when utilizing Pinterest to express your interests is exploring the copyrights that the picture has before you pin. If an image explicitly states that the rights are reserved, the creator probably does not want it pinned on your board. If an image has a watermark on it with the company’s logo, they most likely do not want it pinned. The only 100% way to make sure you are given credit where it is due is to communicate with the original creator. If you see something you want to pin, send a quick email or message asking the author if it is okay.
If you have not taken the photo yourself, you do not own it. Therefore, unless you are linking back to the actual creator, you are opening yourself up to copyright issues regarding your pins. Most websites that have installed the Pinterest button in their site usually have no problem with it being pinned as long as they are getting linked back to. If you have any doubts or concerns about certain images, the best thing to do is ask – or find an image to share that you are sure about.