Kristen Willerton says:
@Liz Dalton
I agree with you, it’s the best feeling when you’re doing a project and then come across the perfect photo just to find out you can’t use it! Searching for the right photos, media, etc. can be extremely time-consuming and frustrating. It’d be great if they’d ease up on the rules but at the same time, I’m not sure if I’d like people using my hard work for free either.
When it comes to copyright, I think if I can create everything for all of my presentations that would be great!! But your right finding the right image and then not being able to use it is disheartening. My students always want to take pictures with me at end of the year school events, I joke with them ” I am copyrighted, that will be 100 dollars for the photo!” This program has change my views on legalities of this issue. For years when I was little I was taught that taken someone’s work and copying it was bad. Now you can manipulate it and distort it until it is no longer recognizable and then add some twists until you have completely change/ rearranged what you started with, but that is ok? Redrum I say ! I am just kidding, I am a visual artist, manipulation, distortion, realism to Surrealism this is my bag, man!
@Mel,
ReplyDeleteTo further complicate the copyright issue, what about making a digital illustration from a photograph? Or creating a traditional illustration from the same photograph?
I remember reading or hearing on the news that the graphic designer famous for the Obama "Hope" poster design got in some trouble over that image because the photograph it was based upon was copyrighted.
Copyright happens the instant after the work is created, but good luck in proving that in a court without registering it with the copyright office. I never heard what happened to the graphic designer after that initial story.
Copyrights expire after 100 years (now Disney has an issue with Mickey Mouse.) After that time, works are in the public domain and are free to use.
Creative commons, on the other hand, is an open-attribution license that says the creator of the work freely gives rights to its use in the public domain.
If that wasn't confusing enough, then there are the loopholes for educational use. That's the gray area that I usually get confused by.
The issue you mentioned with growing up thinking it was okay to use someone else's work is still an issue with students today. They simply go to Google images if they want photographs or illustrations. It's been hard to break them of that. I've had to be a real stickler on it and have really pushed stock image websites; especially sxc.hu.
I have even had them write to ask permission for copyrighted work so that they could get an idea of the process.
copyright is hard! :-) Of course, it's all moot if one gets permission...
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