[kmarketing]

Hi,

I wanted to start a new blog but had some questions and am having a hard time finding answers. Hopefully you can help:

1. Am I allowed to use links in my blog that when clicked will lead the reader to the original site? Can I mask the link with a title or sentence instead of the actual link?

2. Am I allowed to use the logo/brand of a particular site or company as a re-direct to them. For example, if I use the logo for Burger King so that the reader can click on the logo to be redirected to Burger King's site?

3. If I wanted to use images, charts, etc from other sites or scan them from magazines, do I need special permission or can I use them as long as I cite that the original authors, publishers, etc?

I apologize if these questions seem ridiculous, I really am new to this and am trying learn the legalities of things, but am having a hard time getting this information.

Any help is greatly appreciated, thanks in advance!!

[skalie]

1. Yes
2. I can't imagine anyone complaining, you're doing them a service in principle.
3. If it's a blog as opposed to a commercial interest I can't see why anyone would be bothered to ask you to remove copywritten stuff, especially if you are citing the original source, which you could also link to, ( see #1 )

[disclaimer]
#1 is a dead cert, the other two are personal opinion
[/disclaimer]

[Oisín]

Strictly speaking, you’re probably not allowed to do 2 and 3. However, since it involves copyright (infringement), you’re only in the wrong if someone finds out and comes down hard on you. For a simple blog, even in the unlikely scenario that someone should find something copyrighted and want it off your blog, in all likelihood they’d do nothing more than send you an e-mail asking you to remove it, and that’s the end of it.

[kmarketing]

Hi,

Thanks for your insight!

I intend to use the blog with adsense and other possible income generating tools. The blog will be educational and informative in nature (hopefully) and I envision it to be positive. I am hoping and can envision some traffic to the site, so would that constitute it being commercial? Does that change things?

I look at a site like techcrunch.com where they use many logos as their visual cues. Do they have to get permission for each of those logos?

Thanks so much!

[skalie]

People want to be linked to, it increases their ratings in search engines. Likewise people want their logo's spread around as much as possible in the interests of branding.

Why pop a few emails off to the compaies concerned asking if they would mind if you link to them using their logo's? I would be interested to hear their replies.

[red rocket]

If you're going to have the Burger King logo on your blog, a lot of your readers will think BK are paying you for it. And rightly so, because they should. Demand money.