Would this be considered copyright infringment?

[Signed Out]

Found this image of the hyena on nationalgeographic.com. Would manipulating this image the way I have be considered copyright infringment or stealing? I just did a quick proof, but I don't want to send it over to the customer until I clear this up. I don't run into this very often but it has always been sort of a gray area to me.

 

[J Hill Designs]

they have a RF stock image site - maybe its on there? theres 5 pages when I searched hyena, didnt look through them all

http://www.nationalgeographicstock.com/ngsimages/welcome.jsf

 

[fresh]

To answer your question. YES, it is considered copyright infringement even if you alter the photo.

 

[Signed Out]

Thanks Jhill. I'm looking through that link now to see if it is a royalty free image. I actually found it originally with a google search that linked to a nat geo page. If this image isn't a royalty free image, would what I have done be considered copyright infringment? I'm trying to clear up the gray area on whether you can manipulate an image enough so it is legit. Maybe it isn't really a gray area, I have not done much research into it... yet.

 

[Signed Out]

Fresh

I had a feeling it was... But I know I've read through some threads here over the years discussing that you only need to change it by 10% or something like that. Again we don't run into this very often if at all. I'll have to do what we normally do and buy a stock image.

 

[J Hill Designs]

Fresh

I had a feeling it was... But I know I've read through some threads here over the years discussing that you only need to change it by 10% or something like that. Again we don't run into this very often if at all. I'll have to do what we normally do and buy a stock image.

the 10% thing is BS (Ive heard 25% but that is BS as well)

as for this case, all you did was flip it, cut it out, and mess with the levels/hue/contrast

really want to make a derivative work? print it, overlay velum, outline, and rescan/fix

would still be a grey area though.

 

[mark in tx]

Look on wikipedia Creative Commons for a hyena image, it will be royalty free

 

[Pat Whatley]

The identical photo is available on istockphoto.com

http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-photo-13306208-hyena-strong-jaws.php?st=08076d9

 

[Signed Out]

Yea I think it would always be a gray area. How could you measure the percentage that it was changed anyway? If by pixels then I think I could say that this is 99% changed, just from flipping it...

Hypothetical

What if I was doing a design, and say I need to change the rims on a car or something similar. Would taking a picture, any picture, off the internet and cutting just the wheels out from a car and putting them in the design be ok to do?

 

[Signed Out]

Pat

That's funny, we just found and purchased it from there.

 

[Fred Weiss]

Fresh

I had a feeling it was... But I know I've read through some threads here over the years discussing that you only need to change it by 10% or something like that. Again we don't run into this very often if at all. I'll have to do what we normally do and buy a stock image.

I'm not sure why this legend persists and it is normally shot down here at Signs 101. Simply put:

If you did not create the work, someone else did and has all rights to their work. Even if you can easily copy it and even if it is free to download, the owner of the work has the right to set all the terms as to how you can use the work and how much the cost will be. If you acquire the work without legally obtaining the right to use it as you intend, you are infringing on the owner's copyright. No amount of changing it will change the fact that you are illegally infringing to create a derivative work.

Further ... even if you obtain a license for the artwork, you are limited by what rights are granted or denied in that license. One right that is almost universally denied is to do anything that attacks, confuses or dilutes the owner's rights. This covers the oft encountered illegal grant of rights to the buyer of your product. In short, neither you nor your customer can ever claim any intellectual property rights in the Hyena photo in the work you are doing and both of you will face the possibility of a lawsuit by the owner of the work for an indefinite period of time.

 

[Marlene]

pretty safe to assume that if you didn't find it on a graphics or photo for sale site, it is not yours to use. and all that our Fred said

 

[legacyborn]

The identical photo is available on istockphoto.com

http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-photo-13306208-hyena-strong-jaws.php?st=08076d9

This person on istock seems to have uploaded a few images, all of them similar nature photos. I wonder if he has the right to them... It is so difficult to know for sure, and so difficult to protect your own copyrights.

 

[Fred Weiss]

You can read the licensing agreements for that image HERE.

Note the restrictions, in particular the second one:

[h=2]License restrictions[/h] Here is what you cannot do with either a Standard or Extended license:

Prohibited uses for both Standard and Extended license
1. Online "print-on-demand" products
2. Use in any logo or trademark
3. Pornographic, obscene or libelous works
4. Use that depicts personal endorsement by model
5. Use that depicts model in a sensitive way i.e. mental or physical health issues, substance abuse, criminal behavior, sexual activity or preference without a disclaimer.
6. Sub-license, give away, share or otherwise transfer stand-alone images/files
7. Displaying an original image digitally on-screen larger than 1200 x 800 pixels; video image size limitation is 640 x 480. Any size reproduction is acceptable with substantial changes to the content.

 

[Gino]

You can read the licensing agreements for that image HERE.

Note the restrictions, in particular the second one:

License restrictions

Here is what you cannot do with either a Standard or Extended license:

Prohibited uses for both Standard and Extended license
1. Online "print-on-demand" products
2. Use in any logo or trademark
3. Pornographic, obscene or libelous works
4. Use that depicts personal endorsement by model
5. Use that depicts model in a sensitive way i.e. mental or physical health issues, substance abuse, criminal behavior, sexual activity or preference without a disclaimer.
6. Sub-license, give away, share or otherwise transfer stand-alone images/files
7. Displaying an original image digitally on-screen larger than 1200 x 800 pixels; video image size limitation is 640 x 480. Any size reproduction is acceptable with substantial changes to the content.

Don't show number 3 to Butto, sky or ddarlak..... there'll be H3ll to pay. Maybe even 5, too. :ROFLMAO:

 

[fresh]

I'm not sure why this legend persists and it is normally shot down here at Signs 101. Simply put:

If you did not create the work, someone else did and has all rights to their work. Even if you can easily copy it and even if it is free to download, the owner of the work has the right to set all the terms as to how you can use the work and how much the cost will be. If you acquire the work without legally obtaining the right to use it as you intend, you are infringing on the owner's copyright. No amount of changing it will change the fact that you are illegally infringing to create a derivative work.

Further ... even if you obtain a license for the artwork, you are limited by what rights are granted or denied in that license. One right that is almost universally denied is to do anything that attacks, confuses or dilutes the owner's rights. This covers the oft encountered illegal grant of rights to the buyer of your product. In short, neither you nor your customer can ever claim any intellectual property rights in the Hyena photo in the work you are doing and both of you will face the possibility of a lawsuit by the owner of the work for an indefinite period of time.

Yes, Yes, and YES. My first job out of college was working at a VERY large stock agency. We got bonuses for finding and reporting un-licenced uses. It didn't matter if someone only used 1/100 of the original image, or if the changed it, or even if they copied the image all together. Many people either don't know or don't believe intellectual property law, but that doesn't change the fact that the moment I produce something, I OWN IT. No one can copy or use it without my expressed permission. End of Story*

*unless you are produce it for the company you work for, then the company usually owns it.*

 

[Signed Out]

OK back to the drawing board then. I haven't looked into creative commons on wiki yet, but with all that Fred said... would that be just the same as what I have already done. I'll make sure to read over the liscenses there. Thanks for all your help on this.

 

[John Butto]

Don't sue me Fred.