Special Report

Highline Community College

Dan Morrill

You should ask before copying that media

Knowing your Licenses:Creative Commons

Used to denote pictures that are free to use as long as you meet the creators idea of what and end user can do with the picture

Fairly common in use, many free picture image searches available

Flickr and CC

Flickr has whole

gallery sets based

on the use of

Creative

Commons

This allows

people who want

to use pictures on

web sites, in

movies, in media

(flash,

interactive) to use

imagery from

others, as long as

the CC license is

followed

Other sites it is not so clear

Other sites like

Smugmug do not

explicitly state

the

photographers

(or media’s)

copyright.

Some will put

their copyright in

the search engine

data (SEO) so

that you can tell if

they are full

copyright or some

form of creative

commons

You can search on creative commons

creative commons

smugmug.com is

a good Google

search to find

images that have

a creative

commons license.

You should also

follow any other

directions of the

photographer if

you are using

their work

This is focused on Washington State, your states laws will vary, sometimes widely. Right to publicityRight of performanceModel release(s)Public VS Private photographyLaw Enforcement

Complications

http://rightofpublicity.com/statutes/washington

All artists have a right to publicity:If the photographer did not have a release and

took a picture of an artist the artist can request to have it taken downIf the picture has been downloaded and copied the

photographer could be at faultIf the picture is hosted locally on someone else’s

web server and used on a separate web site – the web site operator can be at fault

Penalties can be steep, up to 1500 dollars per image or occurrence

Right to Publicity

http://rightofpublicity.com/statutes/washington

If the venue where a public/private performance did not get a performance release, any imagery of the performers can not be used without permission by the venue, the photographer, or other partiesArtists can sue, and win if the venue did not

have a right of performance releaseUsing an image off the internet does not

imply that the proper legal forms were used Right of publicity and/or performance might

not have been granted

Right of Performance

First AmendmentParody or SatireRight of performance or model released

obtained after the pictures or video were taken

Signs in the venue that explicitly state that photography is going to happen and that the people in the venue waive all rights based on being there

Contract as part of ticket sales about photography happening in the venue and waiver of rights

Caveats to Right of Performance

Some photographers do not or are not able to obtain a full model releaseIn that case, all pictures of that model can

become encumbered if there is a dispute between the model and the photographer

Copying a picture of a model can result in secondary liability to the web site serving the picture of that model

Model Releases not in a full legal nameSome photographers grab a release in the

model’s stage nameThose are not always enforceable

Model Releases

Centers on the argument of “expectation of privacy”Taking pictures of people on a street corner is okTaking pictures of people through their bedroom

window is not ok (even if the curtains are open)Selfies – are ok as long as they are of agePolice, Fire, Emergency Services are ok – as long as

you are not in the way – and you obey requests to stay away and not be in the way

Federal buildings, power plants, ship yards not ok – will cite terrorism act

Riots, protests, marches are all ok – but if someone asks you to stay out of the way – you should do so

Public VS Private

Public Private problems

A picture of a

rioter

Clearly

identifiable

people

Public space

Public event

Unknown

Copyright (where

did this come

from?)

Can I use it?

All video, all pictures come “encumbered” with some form of licenseEven Instagram comes encumbered:

You represent and warrant that: (i) you own the Content posted by you on or through the Service or otherwise have the right to grant the rights and licenses set forth in these Terms of Use; (ii) the posting and use of your Content on or through the Service does not violate, misappropriate or infringe on the rights of any third party, including, without limitation, privacy rights, publicity rights, copyrights, trademark and/or other intellectual property rights; (iii) you agree to pay for all royalties, fees, and any other monies owed by reason of Content you post on or through the Service; and (iv) you have the legal right and capacity to enter into these Terms of Use in your jurisdiction. http://instagram.com/legal/terms/

There is no “Copy a Picture”

You might not know about any rights that were obtained with that pictureSome concert footage can be taken down at the source,

but your copy could result in a separate take downYou might be unaware of any releases that were

obtained from the subjectYou might be unaware of any litigation around the

photograph or video causing you to get swept up in a lawsuit

You might be unaware of any terms of service the picture violates (Selfies included)

You might not be informed if a picture is taken down later opening your web site to a lawsuit for reposting

When you copy a picture

Contact the photographerAsk if you can use the picture for your web site

Most photographers are ok with this if you ask, I have never said no to anyone who asked

Purchase a license for the pictureThis is often expensive, the costs range from

dollars to hundreds of dollarsSearch Flickr’s Creative Commons or

Smugmug’s Creative Commons to pull pictures that are open to useAlways credit the photographer/videographer – you

don’t need to ask if you stick to CC pictures

What you can do:

Questions?