GoodPeopleFlags
New Member
What are your thoughts on copyright issues when it comes to reproducing out-of-print and/or unavailable-for-purchase old decals, t-shirts, etc? Assume the original artist is unknown.
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Reproducing Old Graphics and Copyright
- Thread starter GoodPeopleFlags
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Rick
Certified Enneadecagon Designer
If the artist is unknown or can't be found, does that mean their rights do not exist?
It's called orphan works, there was a bill that would have allowed some use of
work/design that was no longer being claimed by the designer but the bill died.
If you did not design it, don't use it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orphan_works_in_the_United_States
It's called orphan works, there was a bill that would have allowed some use of
work/design that was no longer being claimed by the designer but the bill died.
If you did not design it, don't use it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orphan_works_in_the_United_States
Gino
Premium Subscriber
So, let's say you have an image in which you can't find the author/creator and want to use it. If you use it, and somewhere on the article, you give credit to author/artist unknown, is that alright ??
I see that in magazines all the time, especially our own sign magazines.
If the creator is known and you give them credit for the piece in question, is that alright ??
edit : when I was in school, we studied and copied the masters like crazy. We also did our own thing, but none of it was sold. They were for learning.
I see that in magazines all the time, especially our own sign magazines.
If the creator is known and you give them credit for the piece in question, is that alright ??
edit : when I was in school, we studied and copied the masters like crazy. We also did our own thing, but none of it was sold. They were for learning.
Rick
Certified Enneadecagon Designer
J Hill Designs
New Member
allow me to paraphrase: educational purposes is one of the terms of fair use
Rick
Certified Enneadecagon Designer
C'mon now, that article is about the size of most of your responses and we all read them...
DirtyD
New Member
In that article it says that "parody" is considered fair use. Is that why all these online t-shirt companies can make tshirts with pokemon, avengers, etc doing stuff like that is not normal in their characters behavior?
Or the shirts that have "The Dude" and his pic on them? I always thought that that stuff was illegal because your using their likeness to make a profit even if its in a joking manner?
Just doesn't make since to me.
Or the shirts that have "The Dude" and his pic on them? I always thought that that stuff was illegal because your using their likeness to make a profit even if its in a joking manner?
Just doesn't make since to me.
truckgraphics
New Member
Fair Use
Generally speaking Fair Use allows you to use an image because the public has a right to know and/or to speak out to power. For example, you can often (but not always) in a news publication, publish someone else's photo of a disaster or a photo of a politician in a funny hat (like wearing a lampshade, in a bar without pants.) Interestingly, the rules on whose material you can publish - other than your own - are different depending on whether or not the image is published on the Internet, in a newspaper or on a t-shirt. It's likely that you have less right to fair use of an image on a T-shirt than on a Website because a million people probably have more right to know something than you have a right to collect $5.
Also, you can - sometimes - publish or sell a photo of an individual as long as it is clear that the individual isn't endorsing anything for you. For example, paparazzi sell photos of celebrities to publications all the time. If you use that photo, that someone sold to a publication, and it's not considered to be in a fair use situation, you will likely be in a world of hurt. Prepare to lawyer up.
Also, photographs that are of a certain age may (or may not) be in the public domain. Some images that are in the public domain, are for sale.
Finally, you may have all the right in the world to publish a photo, but someone who has an interest in that photo may try to shut you down. You may or may not want to fight. For example, I printed and put up for sale, an image of an exotic car on a public e-commerce site. I took the photo of the vehicle myself, on a public street. It happened at an event (on the public street) and there was even a sign that said photography was permitted. An agent of the exotic car manufacturer complained to the e-commerce site and I had to remove the photo - or faced the possibility of having my other photos being removed. So I removed the photo.
So, are you allowed to print anything or nothing? Sometimes.
What do we do? Well, we certainly can't afford to consult an attorney every time we print an image. (Certainly, we buy images, but the rights on those are spelled out. Mostly.) But in our (and therefore your) business, we believe it's important to read as much as we can regarding the law, then make our decision on whether on not to use an image.
Is my reply helpful? Thus far, probably not. Except there is one other thing that we have started to do recently. Google has a really good image search. So, before we use an image that we think might cause a problem we usually do a Google image search. For example, you could upload a photo of a design on a T-shirt. You would be amazed to find how many so-called "Orphan works" have "parents!"
Generally speaking Fair Use allows you to use an image because the public has a right to know and/or to speak out to power. For example, you can often (but not always) in a news publication, publish someone else's photo of a disaster or a photo of a politician in a funny hat (like wearing a lampshade, in a bar without pants.) Interestingly, the rules on whose material you can publish - other than your own - are different depending on whether or not the image is published on the Internet, in a newspaper or on a t-shirt. It's likely that you have less right to fair use of an image on a T-shirt than on a Website because a million people probably have more right to know something than you have a right to collect $5.
Also, you can - sometimes - publish or sell a photo of an individual as long as it is clear that the individual isn't endorsing anything for you. For example, paparazzi sell photos of celebrities to publications all the time. If you use that photo, that someone sold to a publication, and it's not considered to be in a fair use situation, you will likely be in a world of hurt. Prepare to lawyer up.
Also, photographs that are of a certain age may (or may not) be in the public domain. Some images that are in the public domain, are for sale.
Finally, you may have all the right in the world to publish a photo, but someone who has an interest in that photo may try to shut you down. You may or may not want to fight. For example, I printed and put up for sale, an image of an exotic car on a public e-commerce site. I took the photo of the vehicle myself, on a public street. It happened at an event (on the public street) and there was even a sign that said photography was permitted. An agent of the exotic car manufacturer complained to the e-commerce site and I had to remove the photo - or faced the possibility of having my other photos being removed. So I removed the photo.
So, are you allowed to print anything or nothing? Sometimes.
What do we do? Well, we certainly can't afford to consult an attorney every time we print an image. (Certainly, we buy images, but the rights on those are spelled out. Mostly.) But in our (and therefore your) business, we believe it's important to read as much as we can regarding the law, then make our decision on whether on not to use an image.
Is my reply helpful? Thus far, probably not. Except there is one other thing that we have started to do recently. Google has a really good image search. So, before we use an image that we think might cause a problem we usually do a Google image search. For example, you could upload a photo of a design on a T-shirt. You would be amazed to find how many so-called "Orphan works" have "parents!"