Getty images and other rights-managed/royalty-free photo libraries usually encase their images in watermarks.

Are you seeing blogs with Getty, water-marked images?

As far as not paying goes, many site owners (not just blogs) steal photo content. Not sure of how best to track where your photos may appear on the web, but it is a big problem.

I won't even bother looking for free images any more, even if you find a good "free" site about 1 in 500 is useful. If I need to use an image, I go to one of the reputable stock sites, buy the image, and keep my receipts. :D

<<Are you seeing blogs with Getty, water-marked images?>>

I think they are images from one of those special 1950-60s collections that either Getty or Time/Life controls --Audrey Hepburn; Cary Grant, etc. --with no water mark that I could find. And I've seen them on high visibility blogs.

I just thought maybe I hadn't been paying attention and missed a Supreme Court ruling that nullified the copyright laws.

they do since no one has sued them, that's why. It does not make it right or legal, but...

Well, I always buy images. Unless I'm using those product images you mentioned.

However, I hardly ever have name brand product articles/topics on my site and don't usually use product images.

I can imagine that policing photo theft over the web is a difficult task.

<<Are you seeing blogs with Getty, water-marked images?>>

I thought you were referring to those embedded Digimarc water-marks, but now that I think about it, I've seen several high-profile blogs with images containing the big "Getty Images" water-mark plastered right across the front on the image.

I was actually referring to both types.

So you're seeing images with "Getty Images" plastered in the middle on websites?

That has to be ugly.