Copyright laws

[admin]

Who knows about copyright laws? Paul Chaney mentioned to me about 'creative commons' licenses. Does anyone know about these?

http://www.creativecommons.org/license/

I thought as long as you mark your work in some way with a copyright notice of any kind then people cant nick it or make money from it without your permission...so I'm not sure what these add...

[Swiftie]

Just by making a piece of work you own the copyright, it's as simple as that... you don't need to put the symbol on it, but you can if you like. The symbol is there to remain and make people think twice about stealing it.

People used to do that thing where they photographed the work and posted to themselves so it's get dated, you then leave it unopened... but you don't really need to do that these days.

Ideas are a little more tricky, because then your going into Intellectual property and so on.

[Daniel Miles]

this is such a mine-field as unless you have many thousands of pairs of eyes looking for copyright/patent infringer's you are really unlikely to find out about others using your ideas for years if at all.
i have the copyright and patent for a clothing company DANNISH that was around about 10 years ago .that the printer (Hob Nob/BB DUNE) i was using was producing at least 10 times as many t-shirts than i was being paid for ( he was also printing addidas , buz , nike without copyright permission )and was distributing Europe wide when i took it to court i had to join the very long line of debtors and large corporations who were  after him and lo and behold he declares himself bankrupt and gets off Scott free.
The lesson is that if you have a good idea that is worth pursuing and developing , others will also be attracted to  it and it is up to you to make that idea realized first then sell it to someone who has the legal team and wonga to deal with the headache of policing it .
then think of something else and really there are no truly original ideas , someone will always say that they thought of it first or did it first or picked it out of their nose.
I personally don't worry about it anymore if the idea is good enough for people to start copying then maybe you have hit on something, now go make something else that takes it to the next level instead of eating yourself up inside .

d...

[pondwhelk]

just to be provocative, my own take on this is that nothing we do 'belongs' to us.  we are consciousness, working itself out, imagining and creating and making - using innumerable resources.  'our' ideas are taken from the collective, and all this business about copyright has everything to do with making money, and little to do with originality.

all the same, in this litigious world, people will sue other people for doing something with 'their' stuff - that they weren't going to do, or hadn't actually gotten around to doing. 

i hate the whole business.  when i put up images on the web, i don't put a right-click veto on them: anyone can download and work on, use - even sell - my images, if that's what they want to do.  i am not separate from that person, but intimately bound up with them, if my images speak to them so strongly they want to build on them and take them further.

[andyhughes]

Copyright law is important, okay so if you want to be truly 'free' and perhaps anti-capatalist then give away as much as you like. But take note there are plenty of people who just want to 'use' and 'abuse'. But when it come to having moral rights and entitlement to payment then I would suggest that if someone uses your work without prior authority then one should pursue for the right for payment and/or a credit as set out by law. If anyone needs a specific answer especially re-photography of art work and so on then I'm pleased to help answer.
Andy

http://www.bapla.org/static/industry/copyright.php

After all some of us need to earn a living !

[Daniel Miles]

but really the amount of time and energy that you need to pursue individuals who want to make money from your work will make you ill.
really is it worth it when they simply jump through a legal loophole and you have now spent thousands of pounds and years of anguish trying to get your 2 penny's worth my experience sent me into depression huge debt and ultimately rage that even when you do the right things and officially register your trademarks and design at great expense for someone on the dole at the time . and follow up in a legal framework against someone who has violated your trust and contract and the laws of the land and they still manage to worm their way out of it because that is what they do on a regular basis and you are on their territory
that is why i have to do every thing myself and if i have an idea worth selling rather than producing i'll sell it because there simply is not time in my life to keep one eye on copyright arrangements be creative , promote yourself , look for future projects and juggle with the ones i already have , be a father and a husband and be bitter and twisted
simply not time at all
   

[andyhughes]

Whoaa - re copyright.. I certainly don't go looking to find someone who has used or abused. What I mean is if you should come across it then it may be worth a letter. I have found in 99% of cases its a mistake, someone did not understand the system, just a polite letter and invoice usually suffices. And hey presto if it only takes a few mins then all is not lost. And I am just talking about Photography and repro stuff.

There are a number of well known artists who come to mind ( nameless) who employ individuals just to keep and eye on press etc and send invoices every single time they are reproduced in any media, whether you agree or not its part of the business, as Martin Parr puts its - much of his time is spent organising, editing and the like - making the work is one part of the whole ( which seems rather obvious - never the less its true)