elegantlion Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 I'm looking at writing some material that would require me to use some copyrighted sources, so I'm trying to get a clear picture of what I need to do and how hard it might be. 1. If I'm using a novel that is past the copyright date I don't need permission, is this correct? I can sell what I produce from use of that novel.What about original artwork for that novel? Does that fall into another copyright or did it expire as well? 2. Is there a copyright limitation on artwork? What about photos I take in public place, that don't have people in them? For instance I took pictures in the City Museum in St. Louis (awesome place). It's a children's museum where most everything in the building is artistic. Would I need permission from the museum to use the pictures I took? Would it make a difference if I were giving away this material or selling it? 3. If I were to create a study on a movie how hard is it to obtain permission to do so? For example I'd like to create a study on the movie Inception. Ideally I'd like to use promotional photos from the movie, obviously large amount of references to the movie and quotes from the movie. Again would it make a difference if I were giving away these materials. 4. Are fonts copyrighted? I know there is Fair Use law, but I'm not sure how far that extends or what that really entails. I know there is a lot of grey in the area of copyright, but I lean more towards the follow the letter of the law. If you have suggestions to read more of the legalities or have obtained rights to use copyrighted material I would appreciate your help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted February 9, 2011 Author Share Posted February 9, 2011 :auto: bumping for the morning crowd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hen Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 I don't know any of these answers, but I thought I'd give you a bump... :001_smile: I'm interested in the answers...:bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fhjmom Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 I don't know the definitive answer for most of your questions but a quick search turned this up for #2 (http://www.citymuseum.org/photographypolicy.html): Personal Photography Policy Visitors to City Museum are permitted to take photographs and shoot videos for personal use, except in specific exhibits where photography is not permitted or when City Museum personnel deem photography disruptive. Photographs, film, or videotape may not be taken of individuals without their express permission or, in the case of minors, without the express written permission of parents or legal guardians. Personal photographs and videos are not to be used for commercial purposes. Photographs, film or videotapes taken without permission may be confiscated and destroyed by personnel of City Museum. While on City Museum grounds, visitors may be photographed by City Museum photographers, and these images may be used for the purpose of promoting City Museum. Commercial Photography Policy Professional photographers must arrange prior approval for all editorial and commercial photography, filming, or videotaping at City Museum. Commercial photographs must clearly attribute City Museum as the location. City Museum reserves the right to determine whether the content of photography, filming, or videotaping is objectionable and prohibited. So I would say that the museum would have to give you permission to use the images you took. Many public facilities have a photography policy similar to that above. For #4, I do know that most fonts are copyright protected. Most fonts available for commercial use need to be purchased with a commercial license allowing for such use and good ones can be expensive. Most free fonts on the internet are for personal use only. HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OLG Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 Not sure what you mean by "past the copyright date"...Used to be that if it was 100 years after the date of copyright in the book, then it was open to fair use. Photos and artwork in a book are under the same copyright as the book. You can negotiate use of materials from the publisher by contacting their permissions editor. It is done all the time. I know nada about the movie industry! Mary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted February 10, 2011 Author Share Posted February 10, 2011 I don't know the definitive answer for most of your questions but a quick search turned this up for #2 (http://www.citymuseum.org/photographypolicy.html): So I would say that the museum would have to give you permission to use the images you took. Many public facilities have a photography policy similar to that above. For #4, I do know that most fonts are copyright protected. Most fonts available for commercial use need to be purchased with a commercial license allowing for such use and good ones can be expensive. Most free fonts on the internet are for personal use only. HTH! Thank you! Most helpful. Not sure what you mean by "past the copyright date"...Used to be that if it was 100 years after the date of copyright in the book, then it was open to fair use. Photos and artwork in a book are under the same copyright as the book. You can negotiate use of materials from the publisher by contacting their permissions editor. It is done all the time. I know nada about the movie industry! Mary Past the copyright is yes, expired, in the public domain. That's what I meant. Permissions editor, that's the term I use to do more research, thank you. Thank you, that gives some place to start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarcyB Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 4. Are fonts copyrighted? This one I can answer as this is what I do for a living! The fonts that come on your computer with your processor are free to use for things like this. Ariel, Times, etc. If you download any font from the internet, paid or free, you need to check the TOU (terms of useage) for that font to find out if Commercial Use is allowed, and for what KIND of commercial use it is good for. If you can't find a TOU for the font you are wanting, do not use it. Many of the free fonts on sites that offer a bunch of free fonts do not always include the TOU that came with the font. A site like dafont.com does include this TOU as most font creators using the site include it in the download. However, there are sites that offer a ton of free fonts they get from all over the web do not include those TOU's. So you want to be safe. There are many sites that have free or low-cost fonts suitable for commercial use the way you're looking at it. You just need to be sure to read the TOU's for each font to know for sure. This site, http://www.larabiefonts.com/, offers free CU fonts. Please feel free to PM me if you have any questions on this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristinaBreece Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 2. Is there a copyright limitation on artwork? What about photos I take in public place, that don't have people in them? For instance I took pictures in the City Museum in St. Louis (awesome place). It's a children's museum where most everything in the building is artistic. Would I need permission from the museum to use the pictures I took? Would it make a difference if I were giving away this material or selling it? Any photos you take in truly public places (City Museum is likely privately owned) are your own intellectual property. If there are identifiable faces in your photos, it is right to get a model release. Otherwise, any photograph you can take from a public place using a modest lens is yours and can be used however you see fit, regardless of the material pictured. (A picture of your neighbor's house is okay. A picture of your neighbor undressing in her bedroom taken with a high powered telephoto lens is not so much.) And should you want to use someone else's photograph, the copyright term is generally the shooter's life span plus 75 years. (Different for pictures taken, I believe, before 1988... but I could have the year wrong.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted February 10, 2011 Author Share Posted February 10, 2011 This one I can answer as this is what I do for a living! The fonts that come on your computer with your processor are free to use for things like this. Ariel, Times, etc. If you download any font from the internet, paid or free, you need to check the TOU (terms of useage) for that font to find out if Commercial Use is allowed, and for what KIND of commercial use it is good for. If you can't find a TOU for the font you are wanting, do not use it. Many of the free fonts on sites that offer a bunch of free fonts do not always include the TOU that came with the font. A site like dafont.com does include this TOU as most font creators using the site include it in the download. However, there are sites that offer a ton of free fonts they get from all over the web do not include those TOU's. So you want to be safe. There are many sites that have free or low-cost fonts suitable for commercial use the way you're looking at it. You just need to be sure to read the TOU's for each font to know for sure. This site, http://www.larabiefonts.com/, offers free CU fonts. Please feel free to PM me if you have any questions on this. Cool! I have an odd fascination with fonts. My dad brought home some font books when I was a kid (eons ago) and I would flip through them for hours. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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