What is the position on copyright of photographs posted on the internet?
Some members of 365 put their names on their photographs - some do not.
What does it achieve?
If a photograph from the internet is used for non commercial purposes is this OK.
At my Church we project material on a large screen and the position with Music and DVDs, songs and hymns is fairly clear and we have a licence for use of this material. However when it comes to photographs no one seems to know.
If I put together a presentation and illustrate it with material from the internet can I show it to an audience?
Does anyone have any knowledge on this subject?
I believe that unless it is a free stock photo listed as free use is one thing however just because it is on the internet and that your computer makes things downloadable does not mean the photo is FREE USE. Many photographers are posting their work to promote their business by getting there name out there and just because a photo is on the internet does not mean they can grab it. Each artist may have different takes on what one can do with their work so contacting that artist is probably the best bet...for non commercial things such as a powerpoint presentation a person may give you the green light if you credit their photo but a lot of people are getting into a lot of trouble for stealing other peoples work for commercial gain. Once a photo is taken that photograph is technically copyrighted and owned by the person that took the photo. I am sure there are others can answer this better than me but hope that makes sense :)
Copyright law is a very complex area, but as has been said, the non-complex bit of it is that the photographer owns the copyright when the photo is taken, and unless he revokes his rights, it is not acceptable to use that photo without permission (except for fair-use, which is another complex area)
If you are a non-profit wishing to use photographs at no charge, I would recommend Flickr as a good resource. By using the advanced search, you may search only for photos licensed under the 'creative commons' license. This option is at the bottom of the advanced search page: http://www.flickr.com/search/advanced/?
You need to make sure that you understand the Creative Commons license, but in essence it allows photographers to allow others to use their work under certain conditions. Photographers may choose which of these conditions to apply to a photograph, as described on the right hand side here: http://www.flickr.com/creativecommons/
By matching the terms you find acceptable (whether you are able/happy to provide the photographer with attribution, for example) with the licensing on Flickr, you should be able to find a large number of works that are available for you to legally, safely use.
Unfortunately it's very common in the days of the Internet for people to believe that any photograph on the Internet is free for anyone to do anything with. It's important to have a basic understanding of the real legal requirements and how they apply to you or you can find yourself in hot water. (Myself and many other photographers license some of their images through companies like Getty Images, who can be very trigger-happy with expensive lawsuits should the mood suit them).
In Australia at the moment, someone who was fixing a high profile swimmers computer made copies of some intimate photos of the subject with their partner ( read between the lines) Apparently under computer law it isn't against the law… but under property law it is… Go figure. I'll be watching to see what happens in this circumstance.
I also set up PowerPoint backgrounds for our church, but I never use photos from the internet unless they are explicitly labels that they are free to use. There are lots of services out there that are reasonably priced, and I also take a lot of photos that are compositionally good to use for PowerPoint backgrounds. There are lots of different views, from the copyright owner's point of view, because some are okay with their photos being used as long as it's not for profit, and they are given credit. But the law is pretty clear that the person who composed and shot the photo owns it--and I'd rather be absolutely sure and have a good conscience.
I agree with what has been generally said and do not myself use material that is not public domain.
However at Church I often get asked to project material and I do not always know where it has come from.
As I said in my original question with Music and DVDs, songs and hymns is fairly clear and we have a licence for use of this material.
There does not seem to be any equivalent licences available for photographs.
Advice from the Copyright people is to ask the owner of the picture for permission - but if you don't know who owns it how can you do so?
There are powerpoint presentations consisting of a series of photographs circulating by email and I am sure that some of the images are subject to copyright although none of the images are marked (C)
With one of these
A. if I look at is myself does this break copyright?
B if I show it to my wife does this break copyright?
C if I show it to a group of friends does this break copyright?
D if I show it to a non fee paying audience does this break copyright?
E if I show it to a fee paying audience does this break copyright?
If an image does not have a (C) mark and the source the internet how do you know if it is copyright and who owns the copyright if there is one?
Here is Australia it is very straight forward and as Arthur Loosley has mentioned.
The person who pushes the shutter owns the copyright at the time they create the image.
If you do not permission to copy that image you are breaking the law, it is as simple as that.
You do not have to mark any of your images with the copyright symbol as copyright is automatic so just because it doesn't have a copyright symbol does not mean you can use it.
Found this discussion i have been wondering about putting the copyright symbol and my name on my photos... I have heard some peoplee sayvthat i need to apply to have the symbol ...... I was wondering whether anyone knew......
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http://www.photosecrets.com/copyright
If you are a non-profit wishing to use photographs at no charge, I would recommend Flickr as a good resource. By using the advanced search, you may search only for photos licensed under the 'creative commons' license. This option is at the bottom of the advanced search page:
http://www.flickr.com/search/advanced/?
You need to make sure that you understand the Creative Commons license, but in essence it allows photographers to allow others to use their work under certain conditions. Photographers may choose which of these conditions to apply to a photograph, as described on the right hand side here:
http://www.flickr.com/creativecommons/
By matching the terms you find acceptable (whether you are able/happy to provide the photographer with attribution, for example) with the licensing on Flickr, you should be able to find a large number of works that are available for you to legally, safely use.
Unfortunately it's very common in the days of the Internet for people to believe that any photograph on the Internet is free for anyone to do anything with. It's important to have a basic understanding of the real legal requirements and how they apply to you or you can find yourself in hot water. (Myself and many other photographers license some of their images through companies like Getty Images, who can be very trigger-happy with expensive lawsuits should the mood suit them).
However at Church I often get asked to project material and I do not always know where it has come from.
As I said in my original question with Music and DVDs, songs and hymns is fairly clear and we have a licence for use of this material.
There does not seem to be any equivalent licences available for photographs.
Advice from the Copyright people is to ask the owner of the picture for permission - but if you don't know who owns it how can you do so?
There are powerpoint presentations consisting of a series of photographs circulating by email and I am sure that some of the images are subject to copyright although none of the images are marked (C)
With one of these
A. if I look at is myself does this break copyright?
B if I show it to my wife does this break copyright?
C if I show it to a group of friends does this break copyright?
D if I show it to a non fee paying audience does this break copyright?
E if I show it to a fee paying audience does this break copyright?
If an image does not have a (C) mark and the source the internet how do you know if it is copyright and who owns the copyright if there is one?
Here is Australia it is very straight forward and as Arthur Loosley has mentioned.
The person who pushes the shutter owns the copyright at the time they create the image.
If you do not permission to copy that image you are breaking the law, it is as simple as that.
You do not have to mark any of your images with the copyright symbol as copyright is automatic so just because it doesn't have a copyright symbol does not mean you can use it.