Copyright and user licenses

[lturner]

For the state of Georgia: Is there a restriction on the location of a user covered under user licenses for graphic images (photographs, backgrounds, etc.) if the user is an employee of the owner of the license but is not housed at the main office (e.g. telecommuters)?

 

[ALawyer]

Let's see if I understand you.

Employer has a license to use Image Owner's images. Employer is based in Location A. Now one of Employer's employees, presumably in the course of his or her employment, wants to use the image on some local material for the Employer.

The answer is, it all depends on EXACTLY what the license to use says. It may be for worldwide use or local use (such as only within Texas) , for specified print or other uses ("on napkins, paper bags and store signs") or for any use.

The terms of the license may restrict use for selling certain products ("Party goods only") or all but certain products ("except for beer and wine and spirits"). It may require noptice of each use, or not. It may have to be used ina coord with guidelines, or not. It may have to be approved by company headquarters, or not.

 

[lturner]

to clarify....

Ok - I guess I was a little too general! Sorry 'bout that - I'll try to narrow it down some.

My company is a national publishing company. My division is responsible for ad design and we have purchased image libraries for the specific use of artists designing advertisements for our sales staff. The copyrights for these items only specifically mention warnings about making duplicates of the CDs, etc., and do not carry any geographical restrictions (as far as I am able to decipher).

So - back to my question. We have several artists, who (in the course of their normal employment with our company) design ads using these images, but are housed outside of our main campus here in Atlanta. Is it considered "infringement" of said copyrights if we make the purchased images available to these artists (electronically, not in a "phonographic" record) as if they were physically housed in the same building, even though they are not? More clarification, several of these artists are not in the same state (GA), either.

Thanks in advance for your insight.

 

[wtd]

If I've got your question right -
It seems as though you are interpreting geographical restrictions to mean where your advertisements are created. I've never seen such a restriction.

Example: I own the rights to a specific, let's say picture, for simplicity, and I give you the right to reproduce this picture on a poster.
Geographical restrictions would normally apply to where these posters could could be placed (as reflected in ALawyer's reply above), not where the posters are designed and/or printed.

The only case that I think of where site specific use of a copyrighted work during design and/or manufacture would make sense would be perhaps where the copyright holder would be interested in the quality control of the design/manufacturing process and a certain site has certain equipment or facilities which would preserve the integrity of the copyrighted work in the end product.
However this condition would seem more appropriate to a manufacturing process i.e: I give you the right to manufacture my widget on the condition that it is manufactured in this particular factory, because I have inspected the particular factory and feel that it is equipped in such a manner as to reproduce my widget at the level of quality required.

It also seems that your question may have dealt with the in-house distribution of the image libraries (network access, physical distribution of the cds, etc.) - if so, you'd need a WAY different answer, I guess you'll let us know if we have to take another swing at this.

Hope something in here helps,
Good luck
wtd

 

[lturner]

Yes! That is my question!!! Specifically related to "...the in-house distribution of the image libraries (network access, physical distribution of the cds, etc.)". Thank you! I think we're getting there....