There is a grey area, to my knowledge, between using a "copyrighted" image for personal use vs. personal gain, ie: making money, though publication on the web of another person's work is likely to be an infringement. I am not up on the latest law on this so it may now be actually illegal; in addition, different countries have varying interpretations.
There is a question in my mind if putting your watermark on an image is an actual copyright. Nevertheless, it appears to be the general consensus of forum members that if someone claims there work by watermarking it, then they have taken it out of the public domain. Whether it is protected by copyright law as such does not alter the fact that artists want to have their exclusivity rights respected, and we wish to comply.
As for the photo in this thread, it is no longer the exclusive property of the photographer, but that of the NBA (if I'm wrong, please correct me, on any of this for that matter). That does not mean it is free game. In fact, it is legally copyright material. The policy of the NBA on this? I don't know. And with their logo removed?
Interesting question. Anyone game to try to contact the NBA's legal department? It's also interesting that we haven't heard back from the OP following all the points made here.
If anyone has anything to add, including corrections to any of my points, please do.
