The Sum of the Human Experience in Two Paragraphs

[bruce]

SCARRRRRYY! I'm not kidding you this time

Dude. I had that game.

Bruce

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

Okay, so I am looking for free pictures of elephants. I thought I had a few from the Renaissance Fair, but I guess not. It matters not, because I found one! On the Internet, too. S C O R E !

Here's the license:

You may use this picture for personal use, but there are restrictions on publishing or commercial uses.

This picture was taken at a zoo, museum, or private attraction that may have some restriction as to how photos can be used. If you use the picture for non-personal use they might sue you.

I can tell you from personal experience that these types of institutions will be very unyielding when it comes to licensing and commercial use. In fact they may tell you that commercial use is prohibited period, and to not even bother asking. Usually they will have an arrangement with another company which will have the sole right to publish and license photos and videos. So if you piss them off you'll actually get sued by both the zoo and the agency they contract with.

While they might not mind, there is about a 100% chance they won't let you use the photo for anything other than personal use. And they would have a very straight forward case if they decided to sue you. Don't be a dumbass. If you have any questions about whether something like that is a problem, contact me and I'll help track it down.

Copyright law surrounding this sort of material is a huge grey area. But copyright holders don't see it that way. I would strongly advise you to not use this image for commercial purposes. Private use is probably fine.

Any time the license includes "don't be a dumbass" I pause, I choke, I bathe in the warning. Copyright holders, like elephants themselves, are purported to have a long memory.