Many of our proofreading course graduates use Twitter to promote their businesses and to find prospective clients. But we remind people who have just completed our online proofreading course to check the copyright before they start tweeting photos.

One recently asked: ‘What’s the position when using a tweet with a picture that has been posted on social media – I see the BBC and Mail Online using more and more of them. Can you lift and just credit with the users @handle name or should you ask for permission?’

The simple answer is that the usual copyright rules apply, whether you’re the BBC or have just started your own business after graduating from our proofreading course. The BBC’s copyright advice page gives helpful advice.

You can only Tweet a pic if you own it, or if you’ve done a deal with the copyright owner. So if, say, ITV accept a photo or video from a member of the public, their standard agreement gives them the right to Tweet it.

Tweeted pix don’t usually carry a credit, for practical reasons. But they’re credited on the organisation’s main website.

See our online proofreading course