Can I post scenery photos without getting permission from the rightful owner or will I be violating copyright laws

Question: Can they be reproduced or used in a manual without permission?

Answer: No. FYI -- The Avvo database of Answers & Advice has a number of very similar questions. I suggest that you review them and if you still have lingering questions then post those specific questions.

Just because the images are available on the internet does not mean they are in the public domain. When you put a name into Google Images and hit search, you come up with thousands of images. Most, if not all, of those images are copyright-protected. That they contain no watermark of copyright notice is of no moment since lack of intent is not a defense to copyright infringement (though it may significantly reduce the amount of damages an infringer would be exposed to). My firm is currently representing numerous small busniess that have been targeted by Getty Images (one of the largest licensors of images in the world). Getty is claiming copyright infringement for the allegedly unlicensed use of their images. Most of these clients obtained the images from third party web deveopers or website template companies. While we have numerous issues with the way Getty is dealing with this issue and while my clietns have defenses to Getty's claims, it is troubling time-consuming and potentially very expensive to be involved in copyright infringement litigation. My suggestion is that you look at stock exchange (www.sxc.hu) a free images site or better yet, to be safe, buy a CD Images disc and use those stock photos. It is highly unlikely that these images you are talking about are in the public domain, so be careful and get them from a clean source or buy a CD. For your info, I have attached a link to my website dealing with the Getty Images issue. Good Luck.