Can you use free png's as part of your copyright logo

[dlwjiang]

I downloaded a little cartoon bird thing where I place my (C)blah blah blah over. Is there anything wrong with this?

[NicoleScraps]

Depends on the licensing of the drawing.

[theosus]

Some royalty-free PNGs are only royalty-free for "non-commercial or home use" - i.e. a school project or report , where you aren't going to sell the thing. Using the same picture to promote a business might not be allowed, under the license.

Silly, isnt it? Either they are giving away the drawing or they arent...

[OsmosisStudios]

Originally Posted by dlwjiang

I downloaded a little cartoon bird thing where I place my (C)blah blah blah over. Is there anything wrong with this?

You can't put your copyright mark on an image that isn't yours.

[rosserx]

Originally Posted by dlwjiang

I downloaded a little cartoon bird thing where I place my (C)blah blah blah over. Is there anything wrong with this?

You're confusing copyright with trademark. Intellectual property such as images, music etc you copyright. Logos, symbols, brand names etc you trademark.

[dlwjiang]

It's actually a twitter icon, though not actually the "twitter icon". More of a generic black..bird thing.

Something like:
http://www.twittericon.com/

I don't recall where the actual image is from though...Most sites like these seem to be giving them away for free...and I'm not technically using it for "commercial" purposes...more for personal aesthetics. Though I suppose it would be the same issue with putting it on a business card.

Of course, twitter can be used for commercial purposes of for driving website traffic =/

[corvus2606]

The long and short of it is no, you cant use it as a part of your copyright watermark.

It would be the same as another photographer taking one of your images, and then using it to promote themselves, which is a no no.

You would be better off designing one yourself, or getting a talented friend to do it.

[dlwjiang]

Even if I gave it out on a website that said: "download free photos here."?

[Mr Guy]

The usage means absolutely nothing, at least in the US. You've either got the right to create a derivative work, and there's several ways to give away the rights that people can choose, with different degrees of restriction. If you don't know that they DID give the right, then you have to assume they did not, and you can't use it.

Doesn't matter if you're making a watermark, a road sign, or an art deco sidewalk. Incorporating it into your work makes it a derivative work, whatever licensing it was under determines if that's okay.

[dlwjiang]

As a general observation though, do people who make these icons care? (have they "given away their rights")

*what about no intention to sell? Just a little icon to say: "I took this, go here for more."

It's honestly unintuitive that you download something from "freepngs.com" or whatever and can face legal repercussions from personal usage.