Hello lampen!
As a technical writer, you're probably aware of how copyright applies
to your own work - as soon as you set it to paper or electronic media,
it's copyrighted, and you own it.
The same is true for photographers and artists - as soon as the work
transforms from idea to actual work, it's copyrighted, and the
copyright is owned by the creator.
A good rule of thumb to use when trying to determine whether or not an
image (or anything else) is copyrighted is to assume that it *is*,
unless it explicitly says otherwise. Copyright is automatic, one need
not register it.
I recently handled a copyright related question, the answer to which
explains how copyright works. Let me point you to that first so you
can get a good look at US copyright law. There are several links to
US copyright law, and explanations of same, all in one place:
Copyright after an author's death
https://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=21037
So how does one contact the copyright holder of a given image? That's
where things get a little tricky. Let's start with images on a
personal web page.
The ethical webmaster/webmistress will either include copyright
information in an images ALT tags, will place copyright information on
the page on which the image is displayed, will place the information
on a "Credits" page, or some combination of these. If none of these
are present, we are to assume that the webmaster/webmistress owns the
copyright to the image in question. In some cases, it would be a
wrong assumption, but the webmaster/webmistress is the first person to
contact.
Drop a note to the owner of the website and ask for permission to use
a specific image. Be *very* specific - for example:
"I'm interested in using the image of the sailboat located at this
URL on your site: http://www.foo.foo/image/boat.jpg" for an upcoming
project. I would like your permission to include this image with my
article about catamarans, to be published [insert relevant information
here]. If you do not own the copyright to this image, I would be
grateful if you could direct me to the person who does, so I may
obtain permission from them."
Always be certain to tell the webmaster/webmistress who you are, why
you want to use the image, and where they can expect it to appear.
Many artists and photographers are happy to grant use of their images
to people in exchange for clear credit given where the image will be
republished.
What if the webmaster/webmistress doesn't own the copyright for the
image in question and doesn't know who does? Can you use the image
legally? No, not without explicit permission from the copyright
holder. Protect yourself from a nasty surprise, and never use an
image that you do not have explicit permission to use.
Discovering the copyright holders of images published on commercial
pages is a little easier. Clear copyright credit is nearly always
given. Why don't we use CNN.com as an example?
Space - NASA: Mixed Crops Make Cool, Wet Summers
http://www.cnn.com/TECH/space/
There is a gorgeous storm picture at the top of the article. Notice
that there is clear credit given along the right border of photo:
"Mike Phelpps, Storm Photographer"
Here is the URL of the photo itself, with copyright credit intact:
Photo
http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/space/07/02/crops.weather/top.saucer.cloud.jpg
The first thing to do is determine if Mr. Phelpps sold exclusive use
of that photo to CNN, or if he retains the copyright. Since his name
is attached to the photo, it would appear that he retains the
copyright. Simply send a note to CNN through their "Contact us" link
along the lines of the one I used in the example above, and ask them
to forward the request to the photographer as well.
That's it, just as simple as saying "Please". Obviously, procedures
for obtaining permission will vary from site to site, but your first
step should always be to ask the owner of the website first.
I hope this information is helpful to you. If you need further
assistance, please don't hesitate to ask.
Best regards,
missy-ga |
