Copyright and you: The basics Alan Mitchell

Intro

After the copyright talk I gave at the RRAA meeting in Sept. there were requests to have a brief summary put together at least of the high points. Well here it is finally. In putting this together I have added some thoughts on fair use and some excellent references on public domain that were not possible to go over at a talk. The best overall summary I have found is from site at Cornell University. The links are all shown below. At some point, and if enough people ask for it I will put the complete presentation on my web site. Hope you enjoy…

From the Copyright office web page:

"Copyright is a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States (title 17, U. S. Code) to the authors of “original works of authorship,” including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works. This protection is available to both published and unpublished works."

So what happens with Copyright?

Section 106 of the 1976 Copyright Act generally gives the owner of copyright the exclusive right to do and to authorize others to do the following:

• To reproduce the work in copies;
• To prepare derivative works based upon the work;
• To display the work publicly, in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and pictorial, graphic, or sculptural works, including the individual images of a motion picture or other audiovisual work

Fair Use

Fair use: “Although fair use was not mentioned in the previous copyright law, the doctrine has developed through a substantial number of court decisions over the years” US Copyright office.

• This means that fair use to some degree is open to court interpretation.

“Various purposes for which the reproduction of a particular work may be considered “fair,” such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.” Reference US Copyright office.

• No commercial use of a work would be considered
• If you take part or whole of another work and incorporate that into your art and then sell your art that would be a violation of copyright.
• “Acknowledging the source of the copyrighted material does not substitute for obtaining permission.” US Copyright office

One common question for visual artists is “How much do I have to change in order to claim copyright in someone else's work?” You cannot claim copyright to another's work no matter how much you change it.

Publication

Reference from the copyright office: “Publication is the distribution of copies or phonorecords of a work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending.” This is important because if you offer for sale a work in a gallery it is considered published. Publishing a work prior to registering the copyright limits the possible court awarded damages. Always register your copyright prior to publishing or at least with 90 of the first date to ensure you maintain your right to full compensation.

References

Many questions come up on public domain: The best reference is http://www.copyright.cornell.edu/public_domain/ the folks from Cornell have done a great job compiling many links to and defining public domain.

There are an excellent set of frequently asked Questions on the Copyright office web site. http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/

Lots of information is available at: http://www.copyright.gov/

Great basic Introduction: http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.pdf

Alan Mitchell
www.alanmitchellphotography.com

Elliot Framan Exhibits at the Placitas Artist Series

Rio Rancho Art Association member, Elliot Framan was juried in to the Placitas art show for November as one of four to be showing. It will run from November 1 to December 5 at the Las Placitas Presbyterian Church, State Road #165 in Placitas. The Visual Art Exhibit is done as a part of the Placitas Art Series (click on the link for more information on the venue). He will have approximately 9 prints there.

This serves as a 'sneak preview' of the work he will be showing there.

There isn't a more beautiful time of the year to drive out to Placitas and enjoy world reknown music performed in not only an intimate setting, but acoustically sound!

Nina Baldwin Wins Poster Contest!

Kudos and congratulations to RRAA member, Nina Baldwin, whose poster design was chosen as the winning design for the 2008 New Mexico Conference on Aging.

Here is the artist statement for the image design that Nina provided for this post:

"This poster is a visual of the conference theme “A Diverse Community; Exploring Options, Expanding Horizons”.

Life is a journey. The ladders throughout the image symbolize the journey we are all on, starting with the ladder at the bottom of the poster the viewer is peering over…

The hill is comprised of many different fabrics representing the different cultures in New Mexico. Starting at the top of the hill, the Mexican serape, of course, represents the Hispanic culture, and going clockwise, the blue fabric with feathers stands for the Native American population. The Asian people are represented by the red fabric with flowers. Continuing clockwise, the African- American culture is illustrated with a bold geometric pattern. And completing the hill, the Anglo population is represented by a red plaid. The different colors and textures highlight the differences in our cultures, our “diverse community”, but united our cultures make a beautiful tapestry… TOGETHER WE ARE THE FABRIC OF NEW MEXICO!!!

At the top of the hill stands a pueblo scene with many buildings with many different colored doors…this illustrates the many options we all have as we explore the services, educational opportunities, agencies, social events, medical options and life-changing possibilities available to us as we age. Ladders assist us to even more exploration.

The clouds represent our expanding horizons as we take advantage of the options available to us. Can you see the ladders in the clouds? They assist us on our journey…to greater horizons! Truly, for all of us, “The Sky is the Limit”!

I am honored to have my artwork chosen for the 2008 Conference on Aging Poster! Thank you!"

WAY TO GO, NINA!!!