Carey, Chris. sonycam1.jpg . Oct-99. Pics4Learning. 30 Jul 2004 <http://pics.tech4learning.com>
There is something bothering you, though. While surfing the Web you came across a website where someone had used your pictures to go along with the poetry they'd written. YOUR PICTURES! You want to email these people and find out who they think they are using them without your permission. Maybe you should call a lawyer, but that costs money and you aren't sure if you have any rights. Now you have an email from some kids who are making a multimedia presentation for their science class. They want to use some of your photos in their presentation. It is great that they bothered to ask, but you aren't sure what to say. Is it different from what you saw on the website? Some of your buddies down at the Artists Protecting Art group are just as confused. You need some answers!
1. Can you say "No!" to these kids, or do they have some sort of
rights to use your pictures without your permission?
2. If they are allowed to use them, how many can they use? Two pictures? Five? Your whole portfolio?
3. What are they allowed to do with this multimedia presentation once they've made it? Can they burn lots of disks and sell them? Give them away? Post them on the web?
4. Can they take parts of your pictures by cropping them in iPhoto and using just the cropped part? What if they use them to make fun of you by pasting bunny ears on your moose or antlers on your penguin? Can they do that?
5. Do they have to put your name on the presentation or can they just use your pictures and never mention you at all?
6. Can they print your photos, duplicate them, and pass them around. Can they sell them? Make posters out of them?
7. If the kids in school can do stuff with your photographs, can everybody else do the same thing? Are there different laws for different uses? If the kids go home, can they just start cutting and pasting and sending them all over the country?
2. If they are allowed to use them, how many can they use? Two pictures? Five? Your whole portfolio?
3. What are they allowed to do with this multimedia presentation once they've made it? Can they burn lots of disks and sell them? Give them away? Post them on the web?
4. Can they take parts of your pictures by cropping them in iPhoto and using just the cropped part? What if they use them to make fun of you by pasting bunny ears on your moose or antlers on your penguin? Can they do that?
5. Do they have to put your name on the presentation or can they just use your pictures and never mention you at all?
6. Can they print your photos, duplicate them, and pass them around. Can they sell them? Make posters out of them?
7. If the kids in school can do stuff with your photographs, can everybody else do the same thing? Are there different laws for different uses? If the kids go home, can they just start cutting and pasting and sending them all over the country?
Use these sites below to find the answers to your questions. Then, take what you find to the next meeting of Artists Protecting Art.
Great General Information, Vocabulary, and a Quiz - Find Out What You Know (http://www.copyrightkids.org/)
Basic Answers to Simple Questions (http://www.cyberbee.com/cb_copyright.swf)
Copyright and Fair Use (http://fairuse.stanford.edu/Copyright_and_Fair_Use_Overview/chapter7/7-c.html)
Examples of Copyright Cases (http://www.benedict.com/)
Myths of Copyright and Fair Use (http://www.templetons.com/brad/copymyths.html)
What Teachers Need to Know about Fair Use and a Great Chart (http://home.earthlink.net/~cnew/research.htm#EXAMPLES%20OF%20WORKS)