On Wed, 21 Mar 2001 18:43:55 +0000 Richard (soho@eircom.net) wrote:
> If I were to take a series of photographs of sculptures around my local town
> and have them printed them up as postcards to sell, would I have to get
> permission from either the sculptor or the governing body who commissioned
> the sculptures in order to do this?
Yes, you must, at least in UK. Artworks are copyright; a photo is regarded as a
copy of that artwork. The test is whether the photo is an original work in
its own right, or merely includes a facsimile of the copyright work. In
practice, if the sculpture is recognisable you are on dangerous ground. Even an
editorial portrait of a person photographed with part of a painting or
sculpture in-frame can be regarded as an actionable infringement of copyright.
Commercial use or not doesn't affect this, it just makes it more likely you
will be sued for damages (= your profits).
You may not scan sculptures either ;-)
Regards
Tony Sleep
- Online portfolio & exhibit; + film scanner info &
comparisons
