Legal Question in Technology Law in Florida

My answer may be more complicated than you expected, since your question raises multiple issues without providing much context.

Public figures generally have no right to prevent others from using their image or likeness. But the "pictures from the internet" you describe are likely copyrighted. The owner of a picture's copyright has a great deal of legal authority over how it is used. That a public figure appears in the picture does not affect the owner's rights. The same would be true even if the copyright owner happens to be the public figure in the picture.

Whether you would violate the pictures' copyright will depend heavily on how you use them. That you plan to put them on YouTube or Facebook is useful information, but it's not enough to give you a reliable answer. You might be free, say, to show an image briefly but not to keep it on screen for an extended period. It also matters whether you are trying to exploit the image commercially. Other factors might matter as well.

Other people in those images might have some authority over how they're used, but that will also depend on additional facts. Generally speaking, people who are photographed in a public place have no right to control use of the photos. But there are exceptions to this rule. For example, if you want to profit from using a movie star's photo, you will need her permission even if the photo was taken in public � indeed, even if you're the one who took it. But you could probably post the same photo on your personal Facebook page without violating her rights.

Let me add that the background music you want to use could also be copyrighted. Relatively few recordings are either in the public domain or freely available for other reasons. Your video could violate the music owner's copyright regardless of whether it violates the rights of those who own the images or of anyone pictured in them. And note that even if the composition itself is in the public domain, a recording of someone performing it might still be copyrighted.

If you think your video could get you into legal trouble, you should probably discuss it in detail with a lawyer. Once you've either shown him the video or described how you envision it, he will be able to give you more concrete advice.

Good luck.

I need to clarify part of my prior answer, since the term "public figure" is ambiguous. Most people think of celebrities as public figures, but I was referring to public officials, political candidates, etc. I should have been clearer about that.

It also matters how widely known the person actually is. You mention Hillary Clinton in particular; she clearly qualifies as a public figure for these purposes. But the mayor of a small or medium-sized city might not, unless your video will be available only locally.

As you may be able to tell, there are few bright-line rules in this area of law. These are judgment calls. Those calls can be hard to make even for a lawyer who has seen the video in question. It's impossible to give you useful guidance based on the limited info you've provided.