

Ask HN: What are the laws around using thumbnail photos from major news sources? - dglass

I&#x27;m working on a news aggregator app and I&#x27;d like to pull in thumbnail photos from the news stories at places like CNN, NYTimes, Reuters, etc.<p>Does anyone know what the laws are around this? Do I need to license the rights to use the photos if they are just thumbnails?<p>I haven&#x27;t be able to find anything through my own searching.
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linksbro
When you aggregate resources from content producers, you tread a very thin
line.

For example, CNN's Terms of Service reads:

"You may not modify, publish, transmit, participate in the transfer or sale,
create derivative works, or in any way exploit, any of the content, in whole
or in part. You may download copyrighted material for your personal use only.
Except as otherwise expressly permitted under copyright law, no copying,
redistribution, retransmission, publication or commercial exploitation of
downloaded material will be permitted without the express permission of CNN
and the copyright owner."

The other sites you liked have similar clauses.

You may only use the images and article excepts if your usage is Fair Use,
which you can learn more about here.
[http://fairuse.stanford.edu/overview/fair-
use/](http://fairuse.stanford.edu/overview/fair-use/)

I suspect your "news aggregator app" is however, NOT FAIR USE, which means you
cannot pull their content without their consent.

IANAL, but work around a bunch of them.

