Unless you have either received express permission from the copyright holder or are using public domain images or images that hold the necessary Creative Commons license, using Google images for your website is violating copyright law and you could be prosecuted. You take the image(s) down as soon as you receive a DMCA notice.The images are embedded and not saved on your server.You put a disclaimer on your site to absolve yourself from liability.You credited the artist or photographer and linked back to their website.The pictures are only used for personal and not commercial purposes.Many people believe that using any image taken from Google is ok as long as:

In our age of ‘disposable’ content, there are several widespread misconceptions about using and reproducing images from the internet. Google images are free to use financially speaking, but the original poster doesn’t lose their rights to the image just because it can be seen on Google, and that can lead to much higher legal costs than buying the rights. Ignorance isn’t bliss, either – you need to make the effort to know that you have the legal permission to use any images you want for your blog, website, shop or page.

Contrary to popular belief, fair use of images is still important and people do still suffer the consequences of getting it wrong. Well, until you get sued for copyright infringement. Using Google images for your website is easy, right? Simply copy and paste or click to save and you have some great images for your website. Copyright laws still apply on the internet and you can still face very real consequences for not abiding by them. Talk to any artist or photographer and they will tell you, in no uncertain terms, that that is not the case. The Digital Age has brought about a culture of image sharing, reposting and reproduction and it is widely believed that you can use any picture from any source without permission or credit, because the original poster chose to share it with the world. Google Images is free to use and you can find almost any image you can think of. Every online marketer worth their salt understands the importance of having decent imagery on their websites, blogs and social media.

Google image search upload