A person in a forum I'm in kept uploading Googled images (Google image search). I told her that she ought to be careful because many of those images are actually copyrighted and they belong to other sites (who have not necessarily given Google permission to display them). She told me that images that come up on the Google search results are royalty-free and everyone can use them as they like.

I'm a little confused, it's not something I was aware of. Can someone clarify this please?

I believe you are right. Google doesn't ask permission to display the images therefor it would be the users job to check with the website they come from if they can use it. Technically Google just displays a link to the image on the website.

However, there is nothing wrong with posting/uploading images that person found on Google. There could be a problem if she incorporated them into her work or claimed them as her own.

Tomi wrote:However, there is nothing wrong with posting/uploading images that person found on Google. There could be a problem if she incorporated them into her work or claimed them as her own.

I agree with that. I have noticed and heard about some content on YouTube that's been pulled. In one case it was a kind of rare concert video of my favourite band, The Guess Who on Don Kirshner's Rock Concert, or Midnight Special - Some retro show like that.

I also think you are correct, Google just pulls images from various web sites, and they are certainly not royalty free, that is a decision for the site owners to address and not Google.

-Absolutely no...the google just provide the link for the images present on the other website..its a search engine and its search images present on the web...it does not have anything of its own.
So beware...don't consider images from Google as royalty Free.