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Posted on 13/11/10 3:45:15 PM |
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Lampman
* Posts: 1 Reply |
Copyright
As a relative newcomer to Photoshop,I must say how informative I have found Steve's How to Cheat in Photoshop CS5. A question I have often wondered about is if I manipulate a photograph that another person has taken,how unrecognisably different does the end product have to be before I can say that is'all my own work'? |
Posted on 13/11/10 7:06:08 PM |
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GKB
Magical Montagist Posts: 4057 Reply  |
Copyright
Hi Lampman, Firstly I should say that I am not a lawyer and these comments are distilled from a few years experience. Second thing to say is that copyright law is a minefield. Third thing to say is that copyright lawyers are living quite comfortably. Copyright is a perennial problem for people using photographs taken by others and for those whose photographs are being used by others. Copyright always rests with the person who takes the photograph unless that copyright has been signed over to another party. This may be another individual, company or photo agency. Many people who have their photographs taken (and have paid for the service) believe that copyright rests with them but it actually rests with the photographer unless there is a specific contract that says otherwise. That said if the photographer is taking photographs of someone for commercial use it is essential to get a ‘model release form’ signed by both parties to avoid problems later. If you are using a photograph whose copyright lies with another and it is only for personal use then you are probably on fairly safe ground. If, however, you use that image for personal gain and you have not formed a contract with the copyright owner then you might need to have a good copyright lawyer close to hand along with a degree of spare cash in the bank. Whether or not someone will pursue you for a fee rather depends on how much financial advantage there is; I believe that at least one photo agency actively pursues every breach of copyright and trawls the internet looking for images that breach copyright. Advertising agencies and companies using photography ensure that all usage of other people’s photographs is correctly contracted and paid for. And that is one of the main reasons that they use photo agencies; life is so much easier having a ‘one-stop-shop’. As for your question about how much a photograph has to be changed before it becomes a separate image in its own right is very much a debatable point. If you just add a silly moustache and claim it as your own creation you may be on a sticky wicket in a court of law. On the other hand if you use, for example, someone’s head from an image and use that as a basis for a silhouette where there are no discernible details then that would be more likely to go in your favour. Somewhere between these two extremes is a crossover point. Sorry to be a little vague but that is why lawyers are living in a degree of comfort. Others may well have more points to add to all this. Gordon _________________ Why isn't 'phonetic' spelled the way it sounds? |
Posted on 14/11/10 11:53:10 AM |
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Nick Curtain
Model Master Posts: 1768 Reply  |
Re: Copyright
Hi Lampman Firstly, great response Gordon. There was a very interesting thread some time ago. You may wish to have a look at this:- http://www.howtocheatinphotoshop.com/cgi-bin/simpleforum_pro.cgi?fid=01&topic_id=1228336011&highlight=copyright There are others, which refer to this topic, so just type copyright into the search function and have a trawl through the results. Some additional investigation on the web may produce some fruit. I took a different meaning from your question. If you are entering a photo competition, or submitting an image as part of a course for an exam, then the normal criteria is that the piece should be 'all your own work'. Therefore, it should follow that if you have used any part of someone else's work, then the requirement will have been breached. However, it could be argued that if you have constructed a montage, for example, then the montage is all your own work and you have used your creativity and artistic ability to produce the work. As such, I see no simple answer to this and would suggest that it's all down to conscience and what you are doing the work for. Therefore, it's good practice to understand the rules first. You will see references to Tin Eye on this site. You can upload a modified image and the original source image can be located. This is one of the methods used by photo owners to locate stolen copyright. Clever stuff and worth checking out. Nick |