On 09/05/2014 5:08 PM, Sunclocks North America wrote:
Also, I was wondering if anybody could tell me what are the typical
requirements for people to be allowed to use random copyrighted images
from the internet, and what my rights and possible recourses are in
such cases of the unauthorized use of my logo.
Hi Paul,
My experience is in the context of academic use of materials under
Canadian law, so what follows is not offered in an expert or
professional capacity and is not qualified legal opinion.
Copyright law is complex and full fo special cases. Although there are
treaties that establish a general framework, the details vary from
country to country. Generally, the owner of the copyright is entitled to
set terms of use including fees before a copy can be made. However, in
some circumstances the principle of Fair Dealing, called Fair Use in the
USA, allows copying without permission of, or compensation for, the
copyright owner. Whether Fair Dealing applies is influenced by various
criteria: the consequences (has the owner lost income or reputation),
the extent of the copying, the use made of the copy or copies, the
benefit gained by the person doing the copying, and other factors, as
well as precedent and case law. In the event of a claim going to court,
damages are assessed depending on how unfair the copying was.
Although people sometimes assume otherwise, the mere posting of an image
on the Internet by the copyright owner does not transfer the imagine
into the public domain. Any subsequent copying must either be with
consent or be allowed under Fair Dealing. As well, there is no
requirement for the copyright owner to include a copyright caption or
watermark with the image (but doing so certainly helps demonstrate that
you do want to protect your rights).
In the present instance, the copying was done by a newspaper. In most
countries News Reporting is accepted as a situation where Fair Dealing
generally applies, subject to there being no gross abuse of other
criteria. The newpaper in question is probably so used to this
arrangement that they don't even think about it case by case. However,
even if this was Fair Dealing, they're in the wrong in at least one way:
the person or organization making the copy should still acknowledge the
source used.
In practice, your options are very limited - any damages have to be
weighed against lawyer fees and the chances of the defense of Fair
Dealing being accepted by a court. Personally, if it were me, I'd write
to protest their use of the image without any apparent attempt to seek
permission and their subsequent failure to identify the source of the
image used. It's not unreasonable to hope for them to add a caption to
the image on their website, thus properly citing and acknowledging the
source. Cynic that I am, I doubt they would agree to a correction notice
in the print edition.
Steve
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