COPYRIGHT AND COPYLEFT
APA, ALA, MLA CITATION RULES
Plagiarism Tools
THE ARTS
Kelly v. Arriba Soft Corp., 00-5521 says Search engines can display "thumbnails," but not full-sized images of copyrighted works on their Web sites, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2/6/02. Setting parameters for copyright infringement on the Internet, the court found that reproducing photographs to create thumbnail images is a fair use of the material, but displaying full-sized images violates the copyright owner's exclusive right to publicly display his works. The court found that displaying the full-sized images through linking and framing was not transformative and harmed the market for the original photographs.
Photographs
It is ok to take pictures in public places and you can publish those pictures, though not for purely commercial gain. You can get in trouble if you publish a photo in such a way that it puts someone in a false light. Much hinges on the "expectation of privacy". The primer from the Missouri Bar gives an overview for journalists. It suggests that so- called "privacy" claims about the photographer profiting from a photo taken in a public place are really more akin to intellectual property claims, namely the ability to control information about oneself. The Photographer's Bill of Rights, offered by an attorney covers taking pictures, not publishing them. A nice summary of this and other interpretations.
Unfortunately, the connection between Nussenzweig's suit and his religion was omitted, perhaps putting Mr. Nussenzweig in an unfair light. Here is the AP explanation
(reproduced on WordWide Religious News)
http://www.wwrn.org/article.php?idd=20434&sec=35&con=4>: Goldberg said his client's religion forbids, and he has a deep
conviction against, reproducing his image by photography or other means because of the belief in the Second Commandment's prohibition against graven images.
"It puts him in a disgraceful light within his community,'
Goldberg said. "It violates the tenets of the particular religious sect to which he belongs. He shouldn't be put in a position where people might think he sold out for a few bucks."
There may be some significance to the fact that the objectionable photo was not of a scene nor a crowd, but of the subjects head the photo of Emo Nussenzweig -- a head shot showing him sporting a scraggly white beard, a black hat and a black coat -- ...the photographer took...surreptitiously near Times Square in 2001 and then sold 10 prints of it at $20,000 to $30,000 each.
...The displayed photo of the 80-year-old Nussenzweig was about 3 feet by 4 feet.
Guide to United States Copyright Law as Applied to Multimedia Productions
SELF PUBLISHING
Walker, Alice. "Copyright Law as Applied to Multimedia Productions" SUCCEED WWW Server (1995) http://succeed.engr.vt.edu/copyinfo.html
Producers and users of multimedia programs need to be aware of, and abide by, copyright law. Since multimedia productions often combine text, graphics, images, animation, audio, motion video, and computer authoring systems from a variety of sources, it would be well to know how the use of these materials is affected by legal constraints.
Although many books and articles have been written on the subject of copyright, some areas have not been specifically addressed, primarily because applicable cases have not been tested in court. Much uncertainty exists, and most areas are subject to interpretation.
The following summary is an attempt to bring together some of what is known regarding copyright as applied to multimedia. While not an exhaustive study, it is intended as a starting point to make producers and users aware of the issues involved.
Public Law 94-553
U.S. copyright is federal law, originating from the U.S. Constitution (Art. 1, sec. 8, cl. 8), which provides Congress with the power "to promote science and the useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors . . . the exclusive right to their . . . writings."
Copyright, as described in Public Law 94-553, enacted October 19, 1976, applies to "...original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression, now known or later developed..." (cl. 102) including:
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literary works;
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musical works;
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dramatic works;
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pantomimes and choreographic works;
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pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works;
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motion pictures and other audiovisual works;
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sound recordings.
Public Domain
Some materials are not protected by copyright. For example, you may be able to use materials that are in the public domain, such as any work of the United States Government (cl. 105). You may also be able to use works published without notice prior to the change in the law that eliminated the notice requirement (March 1, 1989, the effective date of the Berne Convention Implementation Act, PL 100-568, 102 Stat. 2853), or works for which the copyright has expired (e.g., copyrights secured more than 75 years ago).
Obtaining Copyright Permission
Most other works are protected by copyright, even if they do not bear a copyright notice. (As of March 1, 1988, use of the copyright notice is optional, but recommended.) Copyright protection comes into being the moment the work is created in fixed form. Thus, it is up to the user to determine who owns the copyright and to request permission for use.
Exclusive Rights
Under cl. 106 the copyright owner has the exclusive rights to do and to authorize any of the following:
- to reproduce the copyrighted work,
- to prepare derivative works based upon the copyrighted work,
- to distribute copies of the copyrighted work,
- to perform the copyrighted work publicly, and
- to display the copyrighted work publicly.
If you decide to use copyrighted material in your multimedia production, you are potentially depriving the copyright owner of exclusive rights.
Legal Uncertainties - Patrick Lynch, from the Yale University School of Medicine, in a recent article, states:
"If you are just using your project locally in your own classroom and have no plans to distribute your work, then few practical restrictions apply. But if you plan to distribute your project through a publisher, or even to distribute it informally without charge, you will need to make the same permission arrangements that you would make in publishing a book or professional paper. You should have a permission letter or a release form from each copyright holder in order to use his or her material in your multimedia work." (Lynch, p.24).
