0.7 Artwork and photography  (Page 4/6)

A court case in 2003, Kelly v. Arriba Soft Corporation, dealt with the recreation of art images as “thumbnails” or very small images that were displayed as a result of a search engine search. The Arriba search engine was among the first to display images rather than text. The images could not be enlarged and were just barely large enough to be recognizable. When a user clicked on the image, they were taken to the artist’s original web site for large examples of the art. The appeals court decided that the thumbnails, although being examples of copying and distribution, were a fair use of the art. The full analysis is available here (External Link) (Findlaw.com 2003)

How does this case apply to the collage question? When a piece of art is reproduced in a much smaller form, then used as part of something else (even another piece of art), the use can be seen as transformational. The creator of a collage is still at risk of a lawsuit, but there is an argument for Fair Use. (Ovenall 2001)

Finally, there are several web sites which distribute “royalty free” art specifically for collage work. Check these out:

Reusable Art: (External Link)

Public-Domain-Photos: (External Link)

GIMP Photo Archive: (External Link)

Internet Archives (all formats) (External Link)

(Many more such collections exist; use a search engine to find them)

IV. What rights do I have in the photographs I take?

Basic Facts: The photographer holds the copyright of any image they capture using a camera. That means if you loan your camera to a friend, and she takes “the world’s greatest picture,” then your friend owns the copyright in that picture. The photographer owns all the standard copyright owner rights (as applied to artwork): to make and distribute copies, make derivative works, and to display in public. If the photographer displays the images online, they do not “automatically” become public domain. If another person re-uses them without permission, then they have committed copyright infringement. (Anonymous1992)

Q: I took a digital photography class. To create photographs for the class I used school-owned cameras and computers with expensive software for enhancing the photos. With all this equipment contributed, does the school have some copyright in the photos I created?

A: It’s the photographer that owns the copyright. If you took the picture, and you processed it into its final form, then it is your insight that created the photograph. You own the copyright, even if you’re using someone else’s equipment.

Q: I took several pictures of the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, DC. My professor told me that I have violated the copyright of the designer of the memorial, as it is very unique. Could this be true? Other people were taking pictures, too.

A: Always remember that if a large number of people are all doing the same thing that does not mean what they are doing is not against the law. That being said, we can address the question of taking a photo of a memorial. Section 120 of the copyright act addresses the “Scope of exclusive rights in architectural works ^: (a) Pictorial Representations Permitted. — The copyright in an architectural work that has been constructed does not include the right to prevent the making, distributing, or public display of pictures, paintings, photographs, or other pictorial representations of the work, if the building in which the work is embodied is located in or ordinarily visible from a public place.” Your photograph of a public memorial is not an infringement.(American Society of Media Photographers 2011)