--- Mark Perry <markdp@pacbell.net> wrote:
> I dont know the legals as to what is public or
> private domain. BUT I am
> pretty sure there is a problem with showing the
> licence plate numbers.... Also as to what is
> and isnt public domain
> I think there is a difference between copying it for
> private use and
> making a profit off it. ...
The legal test (at least for graphic images) is 'if
the average person (juror?) can determine that you
copied your visual from the other visual than it can
be a copyright infringement.' Two visuals can come
from the same source, such as two photos of the moon.
The one photo is not a copy of the other but is an
original in its own right, so is not an infringement.
The photo is copyrighted, not the moon.
With graphics it does not really matter if you make
money with the infringed image or not. Although you
are much more likely to be sued if you make money from
it, or it appears in a major market.
This (I believe) applies to the web. I think it is the
Boern convention of about 1985 that set the
international standard.
So if the perp copied your photo from your web site it
would be different than if he saw it at a car show and
took the picture of it himself. The Mona Lisa does not
appear in the Public Domain, because the Louvre
maintains control of the photos taken of it. They are
issued with their copyright notice and any
unauthorized use of them is an infringement, although
many artists appropriate the image to be used in a
satirical or ironic way, which is legal to a point. A
friend who wrote an art history book said he had a
$devil$ of a time getting permission from many museums
and foundations for reprint.
So with your FrogEye, if they got your web page image
they have infringed your copyright. Even if you did
not put the copyright notice on the page.
If your FrogEye is distinctive enough to be deemed an
artistic creation you may have copyrights. If not, I
would think that the copyright would lie somewhere
between the Manufacturer and the designer, who maybe
was considered "work for hire" and would have
forfeited his individual rights anyway.
The above is not legal advice. It is mostly the BS I
have collected for the past 22 years teaching art. But
that's what I have gleaned from the literature.
Also, I think the license plate issue is a privacy
issue and may be another avenue to pursue the stealer
of images. Invasion of Privacy.
cheers, bill b.
Your mileage may vary.
Yahoo! - Official partner of 2002 FIFA World Cup
http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com
/// unsubscribe/change address requests to majordomo@autox.team.net or try
/// http://www.team.net/mailman/listinfo
/// Archives at http://www.team.net/archive/spridgets
|