Hi, I'm a new user that wonders about the deal of using images found by using google for example. Are they allowed as part of the image entered in a contest? Or do you have to ask for permission first?

Technically you are supposed to ask for permission should there be copyright on it. However, considering that it's not intended for commercial purposes then it should be fine.

Should the original owner of any element used in your chop that can be linked with their original image wants your chop to be removed, then by right, the site will pull down your image.

For the most part, this rarely happens. For source images however this is different, by right anyone who can truly claim a source as their image and not that uploaded by a member (ie. a member who found such image on a site and decided to post it here as a source).

Well, hope this helps.

Look @ Tofu's thread: http://photoshopcontest.com/boards/viewtopic.php?t=7358

Welcome

A lot of people find copyright and such an unwanted annoyance as they feel they can't use certain images in their chops.
There is a simple solution to this problem.
Simply take the image you want to use and boil it in pan of water for about 5 minutes. This sterilises the image thus removing all copyright, stock image watermarks, photographer credit etc.

Below, I've used Tesore's winning chop from the front page as an example:

You forget to mention the tea spoon lemon juice, 1 clove and 35 drips of vodka (this last one for personal use only).

ok lol, made my first entry today, and i scattered around with copyright permission e-mails so... some guys will have a laugh i guess...