Can I share Flirty Blog pictures on Pinterest?

The answer is: YES!

You may have noticed a few Pinterest focused word clouds and banners here on The Flirty Blog. For the record, as long as credit with a link is given as attribution I consider the act of sharing content here on The Flirty Blog to be "fair use." So if you want to pin an image, or a whole pile of them, you have my permission to do so.

Please just make sure the pin links back to the original page you spotted the image on. That's all I ask in return. My complete blog policy about allowing others to use my images is listed below.

Pertaining to Pinterest cross posting blog content on Pinterest is permissible only under the following condition:

With attribution/credit to The Flirty Blog.com. Attribution is defined as a clearly visible, text, courtesy link back to the original page the image is located on or to www.TheFlirtyBlog.com. Watermarks on photos are not sufficient.

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Sharing Flirty Blog content on other websites and blogs:

All content on this blog (with the exception of comments) are copyright © from 2006-until the present date to Stacie Tamaki. All rights reserved. Cross posting blog content online is permissible only under the following conditions:

1. With attribution/credit to The Flirty Guide.com or The Flirty Blog.com where the content is being used (i.e. not at the end of the post or bottom of the page).

Attribution is defined as a clearly visible, text, courtesy link back to the original page the content was posted on or www.TheFlirtyBlog.com. Watermarks on photos are not sufficient.

2. A Maximum of two images and one paragraph of content from any sigle post is allowed.

3. Copying and posting an entire blog post in its entirety is prohibited.

4. No commercial use or hard copy (print) reproductions of any type without written consent.

5. If a photo's attribution (photo credit) is to another website please contact that website for permission to reuse/share/distribute their image as they are the original copyright holder.

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Why am I pointing this out?

Recently the Terms of Use on Pinterest have come into question. The legality of "pinning" images from websites online is in a grey area located somewhere between copyright infringement and "fair use." On the one hand, Pinterest's Ettiquette Page says:

"Avoid Self Promotion
Pinterest is designed to curate and share things you love. If there is a photo or project you’re proud of, pin away! However, try not to use Pinterest purely as a tool for self-promotion."

Pinner Kristen at DDK Portraits, went to the extreme of deleting all of her pin boards then blogging about "WHY I TEARFULLY DELETED MY PINTEREST INSPIRATION BOARDS." Definitely a sad but understandable moment considering Pinterest's policy when she wrote the post on February 24th said in part:

"General Prohibitions
You agree not to do any of the following:

Post, upload, publish, submit, provide access to or transmit any Content that: (i) infringes, misappropriates or violates a third party’s patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret. . ."

And then, there was this:

“. . .you agree to defend, indemnify, and hold Cold Brew Labs, its officers, directors, employees and agents, harmless from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses, including, without limitation, reasonable legal and accounting fees, arising out of or in any way connected with (i) your access to or use of the Site, Application, Services or Site Content, (ii) your Member Content, or (iii) your violation of these Terms.”

But wait there was more in all capital letters...

“YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT, TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE ENTIRE RISK ARISING OUT OF YOUR ACCESS TO AND USE OF THE SITE, APPLICATION, SERVICES AND SITE CONTENT REMAINS WITH YOU.”

If you read Pinterest's Terms of Use you may spot some Red Flags too.

So Pinterest doesn't want you to excessively pin your own images, of which you are the copyright holder, and they are placing the legal burden of obtaining permission to pin other photos from the internet, onto you? You have to request and receive a release (permission) from anyone whose picture you want to pin or repin on the Pinterest website? All of this wording raised some red flags with Kristen that should she pin something (or even share a pin on Pinterest) without the copyright holder's permission, there was a possibility that she personally, not Pinterest, could be found guilty of copyright infringement in a court of law and be held legally responsible.

So she deleted her pin boards and ended her blog post with: "P.S.S – Pinterest, I love your site. Call me."

And they did. Later, she wrote a follow up post: MY DATE WITH BEN SILBERMANN — FOLLOWING UP AND DRYING MY TEARS

I love Pinterest too. To save anyone on Pinterest the stress of wondering if it's ok to pin my photos here on The Flirty Blog, over on Pinterest, I figured it was a good idea to write this post about the situation and let you know that you are welcome to pin the pictures you see here. Sharing them with you is why I took them. If you want to share them with others via your Pinterest pin boards you have my blessing. Or to put it legally, while I reserve my rights as the copyright holder of the images I've taken here on The Flirty Blog, I am granting you a limited release to use them in the manner specified in my blog policies listed above.