Politician's photo artistic use

[Korneliusz]

Hi,

I've found a photo of a well-known US politician on pinterest.com, uploaded by Florida Ice Cream Festival. It's a simple photo with him and two other guys eating ice-creams at some venue. Can I cut him out and use him (altered a bit) for a university graphic design competition that requires I don't infringe anybody's rights?

 

[xylene]

You have included ANY of the info needed to say.

 

[Korneliusz]

You have included ANY of the info needed to say.

I don't understand what you mean by that sentence.

 

[Just Blue]

Hi,

I've found a photo of a well-known US politician on pinterest.com, uploaded by Florida Ice Cream Festival. It's a simple photo with him and two other guys eating ice-creams at some venue. Can I cut him out and use him (altered a bit) for a university graphic design competition that requires I don't infringe anybody's rights?

@quincy is very knowledgeable regarding these matters...He will be along shortly to assist you.

 

[Zigner]

Hi,

I've found a photo of a well-known US politician on pinterest.com, uploaded by Florida Ice Cream Festival. It's a simple photo with him and two other guys eating ice-creams at some venue. Can I cut him out and use him (altered a bit) for a university graphic design competition that requires I don't infringe anybody's rights?

Just get permission from the person who owns the rights to the photo.

 

[Taxing Matters]

Hi,

I've found a photo of a well-known US politician on pinterest.com, uploaded by Florida Ice Cream Festival. It's a simple photo with him and two other guys eating ice-creams at some venue. Can I cut him out and use him (altered a bit) for a university graphic design competition that requires I don't infringe anybody's rights?

That photo is almost certainly protected by copyright. The photographer would have been the initial holder of the copyright unless it was a work for hire and may still hold that copyright today. Or the copyright may have been transferred to someone else. In any event, you'd need to ask whomever now has the copyright for permission for your use of the photo if you do not want to infringe on someone else's rights.

 

[Korneliusz]

I've found the name of the photographer (he is a professional) and I'll contact him.

 

[quincy]

Hi,

I've found a photo of a well-known US politician on pinterest.com, uploaded by Florida Ice Cream Festival. It's a simple photo with him and two other guys eating ice-creams at some venue. Can I cut him out and use him (altered a bit) for a university graphic design competition that requires I don't infringe anybody's rights?

Seeking permission from the copyright holder to use a rights-protected photograph will always be the best way to avoid any claim of copyright infringement.

There are circumstances under which a copyright-protected work, or a portion of the work, can be used without authorization of the copyright holder, however.

Under the Copyright Act, the “fair use doctrine” allows for the use of copyrighted material in connection with criticism of or comment on a work (as would be the case with reviews), in the course of news reporting (to illustrate a news story), for teaching purposes, and as part of a scholarship or research activity.

And a copyrighted work can be used as the basis for creation of a transformative work (a new work based on an existing work but transformed with new expression or meaning). A parody is an example of a transformative work.

Fair use is an affirmative defense to a claim of copyright infringement rather than permission from the copyright holder to use their work, however, so seeking permission before any use is what is wisest and advised. Getting permission is the only sure way to avoid a claim of infringement.

 

[zddoodah]

Can I cut him out and use him (altered a bit) for a university graphic design competition that requires I don't infringe anybody's rights?

I have no reason to know whether or not you have the ability to do this, but I doubt that's actually what you intended to ask. If your intent was to ask whether your intended use would violate the rules of the competition, we obviously have no way of knowing. If your intent was to ask whether your intended use would infringe anyone's rights, that depends on what you intend to do with the image beyond cutting it out and "alter[ing] [it] a bit" (and exactly how you intend to alter it). It's entirely possible that you'll be violating the individual's rights regarding his likeness and the copyright of the person who created the original image.

 

[quincy]

What hasn’t been mentioned - and it probably doesn’t apply anyway - is that IF the photograph of the politician was taken by an officer or employee of the U.S. government as part of that person’s official duties, the photograph could be in the public domain and free for anyone to use.

I earlier wrote of “transformative” uses of copyrighted works. Jeffrey Koons is an appropriation artist who takes the rights-protected works of others to create his own works - and he has been sued with some frequency. The court opinions in the Koons’ copyright infringement cases are instructive. The courts in these cases outline nicely what makes a newly-created work a “derivative” work requiring authorization from the copyright holder to avoid copyright infringement, and what makes a newly-created work a “transformative” work that does not infringe on a copyright holder’s exclusive rights.

Here are links to two Jeffrey Koons cases, one where he was found infringing on the copyright holder’s rights and one where his work was judged a non infringing transformative work.

Rogers v. Koons: https://h2o.law.harvard.edu/cases/5190

Blanch v.Koons:
https://cyber.harvard.edu/people/tfisher/IP/2006 Blanch Abridged.pdf

Again, though, it is always going to be best to seek permission to use a copyright-protected work from the copyright holder, this whether a defense to the use of the work is available or not.

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

I'm willing to bet Korneliusz isn't a budding Jeffrey Koons.

 

[quincy]

I'm willing to bet Korneliusz isn't a budding Jeffrey Koons.

I doubt he is either - but the law still applies to the works he creates for the university design contest. One sure way to lose a design contest is to infringe on the rights of another.