Intellectual Copyright

[zif87]

Hello,

What are the copyright restrictions for an online digital art website, where:

- The owner of the website has not created the artwork

- The content may be somewhat educational and could be considered as research or private study

- The artwork has not been watermarked.

- It would be extremely difficult (if not impossible) to find the authors of the artwork

- There isn't any advertising or money made from the site



Thanks

 

[quincy]

Hello,

What are the copyright restrictions for an online digital art website, where:

- The owner of the website has not created the artwork

- The content may be somewhat educational and could be considered as research or private study

- The artwork has not been watermarked.

- It would be extremely difficult (if not impossible) to find the authors of the artwork

- There isn't any advertising or money made from the site



Thanks

The website owner is probably infringing on the rights of the artwork authors but it depends on facts not yet disclosed.

From what U.S. state are you posting, zif87, or, if not in the U.S., from what country are you posting?

 

[zif87]

The website owner is probably infringing on the rights of the artwork authors but it depends on facts not yet disclosed.

From what U.S. state are you posting, zif87, or, if not in the U.S., from what country are you posting?

Thanks quincy,

I'm from the UK though the site may be hosted in the U.S.

 

[FlyingRon]

UK Law at: www.thelawforum.co.uk

A similar (or perhaps the same) question was asked over on expertlaw.com. The answer is still the same.

As I told you over there, you can't steal other people's materials just because you don't know who they are. The author/artist has to do NOTHING (not watermarking, not displaying copyright notice, ...) to have copyright on his work. Being an educational site or not making money off the site doesn't give you the right to steal other people's work. Using it to decorate your site is NOT research nor does it qualify under fair use (which won't prevent you from being sued anyhow).

 

[quincy]

Thanks quincy,

I'm from the UK though the site may be hosted in the U.S.

Thanks.

The copyright laws in the UK are a bit different than they are in the US but here is what could be considered a "fair use" of another's copyrighted material (and it is important to note that fair use is an affirmative defense to a copyright infringement action and not permission to use the material).

IF a copyrighted work is used for teaching purposes (usually in a classroom setting), that could be considered a fair use of the material. IF a copyrighted work is used for research purposes (as would be the case in a "compare-contrast" paper), that could be considered a fair use of the material. IF the copyrighted work is used in news reporting (as might be the case in a story on the artist/author), that could be considered a fair use of the material. And IF the copyrighted work is used for the purpose of commenting or criticizing the work, that could be considered a fair use of the material.

A US court will look at the effect the "infringers" use has on the market for the work, and how much of the work was used, and the type or nature of the work, and the character and purpose of use (see the "fair use" factors above).

The fact that the original artist/author is difficult to locate and/or identify does not make a use of the material a fair use. It is up to the person who intends to use the material to identify the artist/author prior to use. The fact that the work is not watermarked does not make the use a fair use. The fact that no commercial use is being made of the work does not, on its own, make the use a fair use.

With all of that said, some works are fine to use at any time. Works that are in the public domain do not require permission to use (but you must make sure that the works are, indeed, in the public domain and there are no lingering rights such as trademark rights). For all other copyrighted works, it is wise and advised to get permission from the holder of the copyrights to use the material prior to use, to avoid any risk of an infringement suit.

For a good overview of fair use factors, you can go to the following Stanford University website: http://fairuse.stanford.edu/Copyright_and_Fair_Use_Overview/chapter9/index.html

Good luck.

 

[zif87]

UK Law at: www.thelawforum.co.uk

A similar (or perhaps the same) question was asked over on expertlaw.com. The answer is still the same.

As I told you over there, you can't steal other people's materials just because you don't know who they are. The author/artist has to do NOTHING (not watermarking, not displaying copyright notice, ...) to have copyright on his work. Being an educational site or not making money off the site doesn't give you the right to steal other people's work. Using it to decorate your site is NOT research nor does it qualify under fair use (which won't prevent you from being sued anyhow).

Thanks for your answer.

I guess I should have clarified that the site isn't online yet.

It's not becuase I don't know who they are, instead because the work is fascinating and without documentation could be lost.

Art is a subject tought at all educational levels so I would consider artwork something that could be researched.


There are some exceptions listed here
[SUB]https://ipo.gov.uk/types/copy/c-other/c-exception.htm[/SUB]
more specifically;
[SUB]https://ipo.gov.uk/types/copy/c-other/c-exception/c-exception-research.htm[/SUB]


Considering these, is there an argument for the site being legal ??


thanks again

 

[quincy]

Thanks for your answer.

I guess I should have clarified that the site isn't online yet.

It's not becuase I don't know who they are, instead because the work is fascinating and without documentation could be lost.

Art is a subject tought at all educational levels so I would consider artwork something that could be researched.


There are some exceptions listed here
[SUB]https://ipo.gov.uk/types/copy/c-other/c-exception.htm[/SUB]
more specifically;
[SUB]https://ipo.gov.uk/types/copy/c-other/c-exception/c-exception-research.htm[/SUB]


Considering these, is there an argument for the site being legal ??


thanks again

Art is something that can be researched. But research alone does not make a use a fair use. More is involved.

So, yes, there are exceptions, but if a copyright holder believes your use of the work is an infringement, your use could still wind up being decided by a court. Fair use can be your defense. Whether it is an adequate defense is impossible to tell in advance - and it can be very costly for you to have to defend your use.

US copyright laws can be accessed at: http://www.copyright.gov

It is better under all circumstances to acquire permission from the copyright holder first. This is what the US Copyright Office recommends and it is what I recommend for you.