I chose to do my blog on the copyright rules of photographing. With today's use of the digital cameras, Myspace, and Facebook, it is extremely important that we know what we can and cannot do. While I was doing my research, I found some surprising information that I would like to pass on to you. Feel free to ask me any questions about any of the information posted!
Photographing something that is copyrighted is the same thing as copying it!! For example, taking a picture of someone wearing designer (copyrighted) clothing with a logo can be an infringement. This might not pertain to people that are taking family photos for personal use. However, it is geared more toward someone who is advertising something. If they use someone else's' copyrighted clothing in an ad to sell something they are selling, then this is an infringement! This can be simply avoided by asking the copyright owner for permission to use their logo, design, picture, jewelry, clothing, or whatever it may be.
You might be thinking..jewelry, picture.... but yes they are copyrighted too. Some other things that you might snap a photo of without realizing it could be copyrighted are: books, newspapers, magazines, cartoons, sculptures, paintings, architectural work, other photographed posters, photos, maps, globs, charts, other advertisements, films, TV advertisements, dances, plays, fabric, toys, carpet, and yes even wallpaper. So watch what your snapping shots of!!
So...what if you took this great photo of two teens wearing Abercrombie & Fitch reading books in your library to show that even the "hip" teens come to your library. Could you use it on a flier to advertise this great after school program the library has to offer? You might think...whats the harm the logo is very small, but the answer is No!! Even though the logo is very small it is still what they call a "substantial part" of the copyrighted work. The clothing logo alone makes a big statement for the advertisement, so you would still need permission by the designer to use their clothing in your ad.
Alright, now lets say you have permission to use someone else's copyrighted work in your photo. Do you need to "cite" the owner of the work? YES! It's the same as using any other copyrighted material. You still need to give the owner recognition. If you chose not to, you have to get permission from the owner to do so first.
