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Using Film Images in Top 10 Lists on Medium: What Is Actually Safe and Legal
If you write ranked movie lists on Medium, the text is the easy part. The images are where people get into trouble. Pulling a still straight off Google Images and dropping it under a heading feels harmless, especially when “everyone does it,” but a screenshot or promotional still from a film is a copyrighted work, and reposting it without permission is copyright infringement by default. This piece lays out what is genuinely safe, what is risky, and how to illustrate a top 10 list without getting a takedown notice.
A quick disclaimer first: I am not a lawyer, and copyright (especially fair use) is fact-specific and decided case by case. Nothing here is legal advice. Treat it as a practical risk map, not a guarantee.
The default rule: film stills are copyrighted
A frame from a movie, a promotional still, a poster, and key art are all creative works owned by the studio or distributor. Copyright attaches automatically the moment they are created, with no registration required. That means the safe starting assumption is simple: if you did not create it and were not given…
