Tony,
can't speak for the UK or for Europe for that matter; but in the US, some
artwork is considered to be in the public domain because they are historic
artifacts which were created prior to any copyright laws or under older
copyright laws which had time limitations on ownership of the copyright
which is now exceeded or because they were commissioned by the government
and are now considered public property under work for hire arrangements.
Similar sorts of things might also apply in the UK and Europe.
> Even an editorial portrait of a person photographed with part of a
painting or
>sculpture in-frame can be regarded as an actionable infringement of
copyright
In the US, this would be determined by the discretion of the courts on a
case by case basis. The key variable in the US courts is how significant or
crucial a role that portion of the painting or sculpture plays in the image
or portrait. If it is a negligible role or of no significance, it would not
matter if it were readily recognizable or not; and it would be highly
unlikely that there would be an actionable case worth pursuing. It is even
less actionable if the use is editorial.
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-filmscanners@halftone.co.uk
[mailto:owner-filmscanners@halftone.co.uk]On Behalf Of Tony Sleep
Sent: Thursday, March 22, 2001 10:02 PM
To: filmscanners@halftone.co.uk
Subject: Re: filmscanners: OT more copyright questions
On Wed, 21 Mar 2001 18:43:55 +0000 Richard (soho@eircom.net) wrote:
> If I were to take a series of photographs of sculptures around my local
town
> and have them printed them up as postcards to sell, would I have to get
> permission from either the sculptor or the governing body who commissioned
> the sculptures in order to do this?
Yes, you must, at least in UK. Artworks are copyright; a photo is regarded
as a
copy of that artwork. The test is whether the photo is an original work in
its own right, or merely includes a facsimile of the copyright work. In
practice, if the sculpture is recognisable you are on dangerous ground. Even
an
editorial portrait of a person photographed with part of a painting or
sculpture in-frame can be regarded as an actionable infringement of
copyright.
Commercial use or not doesn't affect this, it just makes it more likely you
will be sued for damages (= your profits).
You may not scan sculptures either ;-)
Regards
Tony Sleep
- Online portfolio & exhibit; + film scanner info
&
comparisons
