The Parable of the Sidewalk Sale

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I love a sidewalk sale, don't you? Merchants place their goods outside the store and you are free to browse at your leisure without someone asking, "May I help you?" every five minutes.

Sally, Ann & Mary also like sidewalk sales.

One day Sally saw a beautiful red hat like the one in the photograph. She liked it. So, she just placed it on her head and walked away reasoning, "It's just for personal use. I won't be reselling it for a profit or anything, so I don't need to pay for it."

Next along came Ann, and she also liked the beautiful red hat, so she placed it on her head and walked off with it while telling herself, "I'm an actress and I need this hat as a prop for my business, but I'm not profitable so I don't need to pay for it."

Finally, along came Mary who decided that a red hat was just what she needed to complete her mother-of-the-bride outfit. So she brought the hat into the store and paid for it before walking away with it.

Who then did the right thing? Sally? Ann? Mary? Mary, of course!

Photography on the Internet is like goods at a gigantic sidewalk sale. No one is going to ask, "May I help you?" (except maybe through a pop-up chat box.) You are free to browse for hours at your leisure.

Stan, Bill and Joe were browsing at their leisure one day when each stumbled across an image not unlike the one above.

Stan copied the image to use on his personal blog and to make a print to hang on the wall in his living room reasoning, "It's just for personal use. I won't be reselling it for a profit or anything, so I don't need to pay for it."

When Bill saw the image he thought it was perfect to put on his website to advertise his fledgling clothing store and to place on his business cards. He reasoned, "I need this image to promote my business, but I'm not profitable so I don't need to pay for it."

Joe thought the image was just what he needed to illustrate an article he was writing about the Red Hat Society. So he clicked on the link and proceeded to license the image.

So, who did the right thing this time? Stan? Bill? Joe? Joe, of course!